Train Wrecked
by Axrat
Summary: "I can't believe the idiots would be dense enough to derail a train on a cliff!" But they were. Now all anyone could do was wait. Wait for Fullmetal to wake up and try not to think of the bloody mess they had pulled from the crushed remnants of a train...
1. Speeding Train

**Train Wrecked**

"See? This is Mittens!" The young boy grinned, holding up the small, black and white kitten. It was only a couple weeks old, small enough that it would probably fit in Edward's palm. The boy sighed, holding the kitten close. "Her mommy abandoned him, so we kept her."

"I'm sure you take good care of her." Alphonse was smiling, although it was impossible to tell with the armor. The only indication was the shape of his eyes – eyes were the doorway to the soul, after all, so it was to be expected that they would reveal his emotions. When you heard his voice and watched his eyes, it made him seem less like a daunting suit of armor and more like the fourteen year old boy he really was.

"Hey, Al," Edward called from the booth he was sitting in, not bothering to look away from the train window. "Next time, we take a more direct route to Central." He was completely and utterly bored. The train ride had taken two days – it was a scenic route – and was going to take another several hours. It would be night by the time they reached Central. Well, that gave them an excuse to avoid the Bastard Colonel for a little while, at least.

"I think it's nice, Brother." Al objected, gently stroking Mittens' fur. He and the boy were sitting on the floor in the aisle, beside the booth his older sister was sitting in. The siblings both had dark brown hair and eyes, as well as pale skin. The sister was a soldier from Northern Command, her vacation coming to an end soon. On the train ride, Alphonse had filled his time with talking to the other passengers – something the Elric Brothers rarely did, but when the boy had come over asking to play, he ended up getting to know everyone in the train car. "There's lots of nice people here."

"Yeah, well… we aren't getting any closer to our goal while sitting here."

That was the typical Edward Elric. Always on the move, always moving towards that goal – and often, getting thrown even further away.

"Hey," Edward mused, "is this train going a little faster than usual? About time. The sooner we get to Central, the better."

"Maybe we're behind schedule?"

"Well they better hurry and make up time."

Alphonse sighed inwardly. His brother would never change.

Mittens began biting – or maybe gumming was the proper word, as she had no teeth – onto the boy's hand, mewling softly.

"I think she's hungry!" The boy grinned. "I'll get her some milk when the snack cart comes by."

Edward frowned, watching out the window. The train was definitely going too fast now. If they were to hit a turn, there was no doubt in his mind that they would be derailed. "Al, I'll be right back." He called, "I'm gunna go talk to the driver about something."

"Oh… okay, Brother." Alphonse stared after his brother as he walked away. Edward would explain later, anyway. He always did. No sense in trying to get an explanation out of him now.

It was shortly after that the train started to tip. Alphonse was the first to react, grabbing the boy and Mittens as the train fell onto its side.

Or, it would've. Problem was, it derailed on a cliff side, so instead of just coming off the tracks to fall onto its side, it began to roll down the cliffs, succeeding in making a bad situation that much worse. Alphonse managed to plant his feet and back against opposite booths to keep himself from falling. The boy clung onto him tightly, Mittens safe in Al's other arm.

It was probably only a few seconds, but it seemed like an eternity before the train finally stopped. The car was on its side, the windows shattered, the ceiling dented and torn. Glass was strewn about, and people were slowly getting up, some cut, others bruised. They were lucky. Alphonse forced his way out of one of the tears in the ceiling, still carrying the boy.

The area they were in was forested heavily. When he looked back, Alphonse could see that the trees had been cleared by the train, some stuck in the other cars, some flattened and others were just left strewn about like the train itself.

Alphonse sat the boy under a tree, giving Mittens back to him. "Stay here, alright?" People were emerging from the train, the least injured helping those who needed it. The boy's sister was barking orders around, her military training holding true. It was mid-day, and they needed to get survivors out as soon as possible.

The first car was completely crushed, and the engine had been pulled to pieces. Finding survivors there was unlikely. Alphonse had been in the third car out of five, suffering the least damage. Immediately he set off to the second car, hoping his brother was there. He had gone to talk to the drivers… hopefully he had made it back to the second car before the train derailed.

It was late by the time help had arrived. There had been no sign of Edward in the last four cars, which scared the younger Elric brother to no end. Help came in the form of soldiers from Central, Roy Mustang heading the group. There were also a handful of doctors with them, probably from one of the military hospitals in Central.

"What's going on? I demand an explanation." He barked out over the group. The soldier from Northern Command gave a sharp salute. Alphonse watched. He could only hope that the extra help would be able to find Edward before it was too late… he scolded himself for thinking like that.

"Colonel, sir, I am First Lieutenant Tonya Vance from Northern Command. It's pretty obvious what's happened, sir. The train derailed on the cliff…"

"I can see that. Where is Fullmetal?" Mustang snapped, obviously in a bad mood. Vance's salute faltered.

"We don't know, Sir. We haven't found him yet. It's possible that he got out on his own before any of us did."

"Where's his brother?"

"I'm right here, Colonel." Alphonse answered, making himself known. The Flame Alchemist faltered for a moment, as if berating himself for not seeing a giant suit of armor.

"You haven't seen Edward?"

"No, Sir…"

"Edward wouldn't run off and leave his brother in a train wreck." Breda remarked.

"Which means…" Fuery didn't want to say it. But they all knew – Edward was still in the train, and the fact that he hadn't emerged on his own meant that he was trapped or injured, or… no, they weren't going to think about the possibility of worse. Fullmetal was too strong for that.

"Hawkeye, take a group and do a thorough search of the last two cars, just in case they missed someone. Havoc, Lieutenant Vance, the first car. Breda, the second and third. Falman, help the injured, Fuery, search for whatever's left of the engine. I want to know why the train derailed, and whose fault it was. Find some soldiers and uninjured civilians to help and get the job done. The priority is Fullmetal. If you find him, tell me immediately."

"Yes sir!" The soldiers chorused back at him, before setting about the task they were assigned. Alphonse went with Breda, hoping that he had missed something in the second car.

The search was painstaking and long, rechecking everywhere Alphonse had already been in the hope of seeing a speck of gold or a piece of red fabric – even the red soles of Edward's shoes would've been a welcome sight. It was two hours before Havoc's voice rang out over the others.

"We've found him! Let's get some help and pull him out!"

Alphonse quickly abandoned his search. By the time he left the car, and made his way to the crushed first car, Roy was already climbing into the small opening they had made by pulling out pieces of metal and rubble to help survivors. Alphonse knew he had no hope of fitting into the gap, so he stood by and waited, every second feeling like an eternity in itself. Mustang's five subordinates were crowding around, their previous assignments abandoned as they waited for the order to drag Edward out.

Roy was startled by the sight. All he could smell was blood, the flashlight in his hand illuminating the figure in front of him. Golden hair was stained in blood, red coat torn to pieces. The teenage boy was half trapped under the crushed train car, his blood pooling around him from the gashes across his body. Purple bruises stood out against Edward's skin, pale from loss of blood, and he looked like he had several broken bones. The Fullmetal Alchemist's breathing was shallow and labored as he struggled for every breath. He wasn't in a good state at all. It didn't take a doctor to realize that.

"Fullmetal," Mustang spoke, unable to mask the urgency in his voice, "Fullmetal, can you hear me? Say something!" He pulled placed his ungloved hand on the boy's forehead gently. He was deathly cold, and that worried the Colonel. "Don't you die, post-processing is too much of a pain to bother with for you." He muttered, before retreating out of the opening. He turned to Havoc, "he's still trapped under there, and there's a chance he may have a spinal or head injury. Try and free the rest of him, and we'll get a doctor in to make sure it's safe to move him."

"Is there anything I can do?" Alphonse asked desperately. His brother was hurt, he could tell from the tone in Mustang's voice. He had to do _something_! He couldn't just sit there and watch. The Colonel watched him for a moment.

"Use your alchemy to remove what you can. We need to get Fullmetal out as soon as we can." As soon as the order was given, Roy disappeared back into the gap, watching over Edward as the others went to work trying to free him from the outside.

"How did you get yourself into this situation, Fullmetal?" Mustang muttered, listening to the sound of Alphonse's alchemy as it shifted aside the metal scraps. Light began to shine through, and, eventually, Alphonse had managed to essentially cut the train car in two length wise, freeing Edward completely. Everyone saw Alphonse Elric lose it at the sight of the battered State Alchemist they had freed.

Roy carefully pulled the boy out of the remains of the rubble, carrying him in his arms. The blood would be a pain to get out of the blue military uniform, but that was at the bottom of the Flame Alchemist's worries right now. Edward looked half dead in his arms, lying there with no complaint. His clothes were practically unrecognizable, whether it was the blood or the fact that they were ripped to shreds, Alphonse wasn't sure. There were mutterings of 'how could this happen?' or 'that's terrible!' or similar phrases from those around, all watching Colonel Roy Mustang as he silently carried the boy away. Alphonse fell to the ground, shaking. It hurt to see his brother like that, so beaten and battered.

"Brother…" His voice was shaking. Havoc crouched down in front of him, trying to be of some comfort, buy Alphonse couldn't hear him. All he could think of was his unconscious brother, covered in his own blood after being crushed under a train car. "Brother… brother, no…"

"Hey, calm down…" Havoc sighed, "Ed's not going anywhere. He's too tough for that. He's a little battered, sure, but he'll be better before you know it." He did hope he wouldn't be eating those words later. To be honest? Right now, he was trying to convince himself, too. No one wanted to lose Edward. He'd become a big part of their lives.

Like hell were they going to lose him now.


	2. Twisted Metal

**Train Wrecked**

"He's stopped breathing!"

"Move aside!"

Roy could only watch the doctors as they worked to resuscitate his subordinate, lying still on the stretcher. He hated himself for not being able to help. Why was he always so damn _useless_? It might as well have been raining at this point. Edward was practically _dying _in front of him and all he could do was watch.

"You keep him alive." He ordered sharply. "I'm going to find who's responsible for this fiasco." He couldn't bear to stand there and watch his subordinate suffer any longer. "If he wakes up at all, remind him that he has a brother waiting for him, and a goal to fulfill." That was all that needed to be said. He turned and walked away, returning to the crushed train car to speak with Lieutenant Vance.

"Sir!" She saluted, but he waved her off, not in the mood for formalities.

"Do you have any idea on why the train derailed?"

"I remember Major Elric mentioning something about the train moving too quickly. He said he was going to go speak with the drivers, and left. That was about the time the train derailed." Roy cursed, running his hands through his hair. He had to walk away for a moment to stop himself from yelling at her.

"So it derailed due to speed? Where are the drivers?"

"I believe they would be dead, Sir. The engine's torn to pieces. They couldn't have survived."

"Fuery!" Roy barked. The dark haired soldier appeared quickly, the fear obvious in his expression. The Colonel wasn't exactly using a friendly tone. "Did you find the bodies of the train drivers?"

"We found one, Colonel. A piece of metal pierced through his chest and he was… well, in a very bad shape." One out of three. There were always three drivers in any train, two to shovel the coal, and one to control the train.

"Find the other two. If they're not dead, I want them arrested!"

"Yes, sir!"

As he ran off, Roy pinched the bridge of his nose, cursing under his breath. After awhile, he spoke up – well, more like shouted. "I can't believe this! They were speeding _here _of all places! That's just asking for trouble! I can't believe the idiots would be dense enough to derail a train on a cliff! Did they want to kill everyone?"

"You should calm down, sir." Riza spoke up, "it may be that they were inexperienced, or weren't aware of their speed."

"That's no excuse! Fullmetal nearly died, Hawkeye!"

"I didn't say it was, sir. I understand that you are angry about the whole situation, but you won't be any help if all you do is yell at the air. Perhaps you should worry more about helping the other survivors, or take the names of those we've found and check them against the passenger lists."

"Are you trying to give me orders, Lieutenant?"

"It was merely a suggestion, Sir."

Roy sighed. "Perhaps you're right…" He glanced around and frowned. "Where is Alphonse?"

"Havoc took him to see Lieutenant Vance's younger brother. She said that the two got along well on the train. We're hoping the boy will distract him for a little while."

"I doubt it'll work, but points for trying." The Colonel muttered. "Falman! I want passenger lists here, now!"

"Yes, Sir!"

ID-ing the survivors, casualties and the 'still missing' was work a Colonel would not usually be doing. But honestly? He just wanted something to distract him. Giving orders would only distract him for so long before he took out his anger and frustration on one of the men. It was something he really didn't want to do right now – he knew he wasn't the only one stressed about this whole thing.

Maybe he shouldn't have volunteered for this. Hawkeye was right. When it came to Fullmetal getting in trouble – or any of his subordinates, it was just Fullmetal who was always _in _trouble – he wasn't exactly the most _rational_. The moment he saw Edward's name on the list of passengers on the train, he had volunteered without a second thought. Now, he wasn't so sure that was such a good idea. Then again, if Edward had died, he would've been blaming himself for not being there. Just like…

_No, damn it. Don't think about that right now. _He berated himself, checking Hunter and Tonya Vance off the passenger list.

After awhile, the need for orders arose again, so he stopped and returned the passenger list to Falman.

"I want the worst of the worst taken to Central Hospital immediately! Fullmetal better be with them! If you think they have no hope of surviving, take them _if you can_. Otherwise only take those who can be saved. Fuery, I want you to go with them."

"Sir!" Fuery saluted.

"Take a couple other soldiers, too. Everyone else, keep searching!"

Roy sighed, slumping down to sit under one of the trees. He was stressed, to put it lightly. Why did he always do this to himself? There was nothing more he could've done to help Fullmetal. He was in the hands of the doctors now; they were the only ones who could help him.

They all worked through the night, lit by flashlights and lanterns. Alphonse went to work using Alchemy to free anyone still trapped in the first car. Out of the people they found, it seemed Edward had been the worst off. They found transmutation marks in the rubble not caused by Alphonse, which hinted that Edward may have used Alchemy to protect the others in the car at expense to himself. It was such an _Elric _thing to do. But if he died because of it, so help him, Roy would make sure those people knew exactly what Edward sacrificed to save them.

The next day, civilians from Central arrived to help, uncertified Alchemists and non-alchemists alike. Major Armstrong appeared to assist, too. At the end of the day, the civilians took the injured back to Central. Alphonse went with them, wanting to see his brother again as soon as possible.

The first word Roy heard about Edward came through on the large portable phone that was only used by military. He spoke with Fuery, who sounded rather concerned.

"_He was fine once they got him stabilized finally… his heart stopped again, twice, on the way to Central. He's in a coma, though. They aren't sure when he'll wake up…" _

"Alphonse is on his way to Central. I want you to meet him and take him to Fullmetal."

"_Yes, sir. Anything else you want?" _

"Keep an eye on Fullmetal until I return, and keep me updated."

"_Understood. I'll be sure to give regular updates, sir." _

The conversation ended after that. At the end of the next day, Major Armstrong made a point to relieve the Colonel of his duties. The only thing left was clean up, and it was painstakingly obvious that Roy was worried about Fullmetal. Of course, he'd be worried about any of his subordinates, if they were in that situation. It was one of the perks of working under Mustang – he actually gave a damn about his subordinates.

"I'll see you back at Central Command, then."

"Yes." Armstrong nodded. "Take care of Edward, Colonel."

"There's not much I can do at this point. Waiting around would only waste time."

Roy took the rest of his subordinates back to Central Command. Vance remained with Armstrong, unwilling to leave the job half-done. Mustang, however, had more important things to do in Central, and a subordinate near death that he needed to check up on. The trip seemed painstakingly long – although it was really only a couple hours in the military truck that had brought them out. Everyone was worried about Edward. They had all seen the bloodied up, battered mess Roy had pulled out from the train. It was hard to associate _that _with Edward Elric.

"What do you think, Chief?" Havoc asked, glancing over at the Colonel. "He gunna make it?"

"He will." Mustang replied, easily hiding the fact that he wasn't so sure of that himself, "I mean, after all, has there been anything Fullmetal hasn't survived yet?"

"That's true, but I've never seen him so…"

"All we can do is wait," Hawkeye interrupted, her tone as stern and emotionless as ever, "and be there for him when he wakes up. With the state he was in, he's going to need rehabilitation after all this is over."

"We'll need to give his mechanic a call, too." Mustang mused. "I'm sure his Automail didn't escape damage. Not with the state of that train car…"

"It may be best if we wait for him to wake, sir." The 1st Lieutenant shook her head. "I don't think Ms. Rockbell will be able to see him in the state he's in."

"…Perhaps you're right…"

As soon as they reached Central Command, Mustang sent the others home. He headed to the hospital, even though he knew it was outside of visiting hours. Edward was being treated in a military hospital, so they couldn't turn a colonel away. This fact worked to his advantage – as well as the fact that he couldn't wake Edward up even if he tried. That fact made him feel useless again.

The white halls of the hospital were lit only by the dim lights along the floor, only offering enough light to see where he was walking. It was easy enough to find Edward's hospital room. Despite the lights being off, he could still see Alphonse sitting on a stool beside the bed, back turned towards the door. Slowly, he stepped into the room and closed the door behind him with a soft 'click', which gained the attention of the young Elric.

"Colonel?"

"Yeah, it's me." Roy answered, his voice low. "I know it's late, but…"

"That's alright. Brother would be glad to know you were here." Alphonse turned back to face his brother. Roy could barely make out the boy, lying there, his hair loose around his head. A breath mask had also been placed over his nose and mouth. The Colonel could hear his raspy, labored breaths in the silence.

"He'd probably yell at me and call me a bastard, or call me useless."

"He says those things, but he does appreciate all you've done for us. He just doesn't like to show it."

Roy could hear the soft, scared tone in Alphonse's echoing voice. It reminded him that attached to that huge, frightening suit of armor was just the soul of a boy. A boy who needed his brother by his side. A boy who had seen Hell, and never let it affect him. Or maybe… maybe, like his brother, he suffered in silence, only revealing how he felt to those closest to him.

"If you need anything, Alphonse, just give me a call." Roy pulled out a pen from his pocket and scribbled his home phone number and his desk number – as well as Edward's access code – down on a napkin that rested on the end table. "If Edward's condition changes for better or worse, I want to know as soon as possible." Hesitantly, he placed his ungloved hand on Edward's forehead. His skin still felt like ice beneath his fingers, but it didn't have that sensation of death any longer. It was more like he was sleeping – although he knew that to be untrue. "You better wake up, Fullmetal. There are people waiting for you." There was no response, but he hadn't expected one anyway.

He said his goodbyes to Alphonse, and left the hospital once again. To his surprise, Hawkeye was waiting for him outside.

"Well, Sir?"

"I didn't ask you to wait for me, Lieutenant." He observed.

"I chose to come on my own, sir." She responded, falling into step behind him as he approached his car. "How is he?"

"It was too dark to see his injuries. I'll come back after work when it's still light out and have a better look."

Riza opened the back door, allowing the Colonel to get into the car, before she sat in the driver's seat and started the car. "Perhaps I'll come with you tomorrow." Roy pondered Alphonse's words in silence for awhile, before he spoke.

"I'm sure Fullmetal would appreciate it."


	3. Still Raining

_Author's notes: Damn it, sorry this is so short. I tried to extend it a little, but I didn't want it to get repetitive. Anyway, I hope you enjoy nonetheless. I'll try to make the future chapters longer for you all. I must say, this is the quickest I've ever gotten so many reviews, and it makes me extremely happy. Thank you all, very much. _

**Train Wrecked**

"The investigation into the derailment has been handed over to Investigations, sir."

"Damn it." Roy cursed, slamming his hand down on his desk. He had put in a specific request to be put in charge of the investigations. It was _his _subordinate who was suffering; it should've been in his jurisdiction! "Do they not have any idea what happened to him?"

"I think they have a perfect idea, sir." Hawkeye responded. "You're being irrational again. If you did find out who was responsible for the train's excessive speed, what would you do?"

"It's been two weeks already, Lieutenant… he still hasn't shown any signs of recovery." Mustang rested his elbows on his desk, holding his face in his hands. "I can't just _stand aside_."

"Perhaps you should visit him, Sir."

He saw what she was getting at. Roy hadn't been to visit Edward since the first few days he had been in hospital. Alphonse never left that hospital room, but the Flame Alchemist couldn't bear to see Edward in that state… He wanted that smart-mouthed brat back.

"What point is there, Lieutenant?"

"Just for today, then. If nothing else, I'm sure Alphonse would appreciate it."

"I suppose there's no harm in it…" Roy sighed as he stood, pulling his coat off the back of his chair. He strode out of his office, muttering a half-hearted invite to his subordinates as he passed them on his way out. Hawkeye followed him with an exasperated sigh.

He was allowed into the hospital without any issues. This time, a nurse escorted him to Edward's room, closing the door behind him softly.

Alphonse didn't seem to have moved, still sitting at his brother's bedside. Edward's breathing hadn't improved – if anything, it had worsened. His breaths were in short, raspy gasps, his chest shaking from the effort. His skin was pale and clammy. Hesitantly, Roy gently took his hand, cold to the touch.

"They say he's had some major damage done to his lungs and possibly his brain." Alphonse spoke. His voice was quiet – Roy almost hadn't heard him. He sounded so scared, so frightened…

"His lungs? How did that happen?" Hawkeye asked, surprised.

"I'm no doctor, but it could be a pneumothorax, with the way he's breathing." He had seen a soldier in Ishval, breathing in the same way Fullmetal was now. That was what the doctors had called his condition – a fancy term for saying they had a collapsed lung.

"Sorry, sir?"

"Collapsed lung." Alphonse explained. "It can be caused by chest injuries…" Hesitantly, Hawkeye placed her hand on Alphonse's shoulder. Even if he couldn't feel it, the gesture alone was appreciated.

Roy held two fingers to Edward's wrist, trying to find his pulse. He didn't like how weak it felt – what the hell were the doctors doing? Wasn't there something they could do to help him?

"Have you found the people who caused the train to derail?" The younger of the two Elrics asked. From the tone of his voice, Roy could tell that he wasn't hoping for anything. The bodies of the other two drivers hadn't been found, and it was suspected that they had fled. Although they shouldn't have been able to go to very far with the injuries they must've sustained, they had yet to be located. It was frustrating, to say the least.

"No, sorry." The colonel sighed. "The Investigations department has taken over now, there's nothing I can do."

Alphonse didn't respond. He just sat there silently.

Roy and Riza left shortly after that.

"See, Lieutenant? There was no point. He hasn't improved at all."

"Sir…" She sighed, coming to a stop at the hospital gate. He paused, and turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Sir, didn't you realize? Alphonse is giving up. If we can be there, supporting him and Edward, then he'll regain hope."

"He's been sitting there without end ever since Edward was admitted to hospital. He watches as Edward lies there, with no sign of recovery. You can't blame him." Roy paused, pondering. Perhaps seeing a close friend would help him. After all, Roy barely knew the boy. "Lieutenant, do you know where the nearest payphone is?"

"There's one on the next block, why?"

"I would like to make a call on the way home."

"Yes, sir."

When they stopped at the payphone, Roy paused to check his notebook. He had written all of the home phone numbers of his subordinates, in case of emergency. Of course, Edward and Alphonse were never 'home', but having the number did come in handy sometimes. Like now, for instance, he figured as he dropped several coins in to the phone and dialed the number.

"_Rockbell Automail Mechanics, this is Pinako, how can I help you?" _

"Hello, Mrs. Rockbell. It's Colonel Mustang here. I'm calling about Edward and Alphonse."

There was a sigh on the other end. _"What trouble have those boys gotten into this time?_"

Roy explained the events that had landed Edward in a coma, Alphonse watching over him in silence for every second of the day, seven days a week. He told her that there was an investigation into the events that caused the train to derail, but so far, nothing had turned up.

"_I see… would you be able to call Winry, in Rush Valley for me? I… I wouldn't have the heart to tell her._" Pinako gave him the number, and thanked him for letting him know. They ended the conversation, hanging up the phones on either end.

"How did it go?" Riza asked, tilting her head.

"Winry wasn't there, but I do have the number to call her." He really didn't want to explain it all again, but he needed someone to help get Alphonse out of his slump.

"It will only be harder if you wait."

Roy sighed, putting more coins into the machine as he dialed the new number.

"_Atelier Garfiel, Winry speaking._"

"Ah, Ms. Rockbell, it's Colonel Mustang."

"_Oh, no. I bet Ed's gone and busted his arm again, hasn't he?_" He could hear the exasperated sigh on the other end, causing crackling to erupt across the line for a brief moment.

"I'm afraid it's more serious than just some broken automail."

"_What… what do you mean?_"

"Edward's train derailed a couple weeks ago, and he was seriously injured. He's been in a coma ever since."

"_Oh my…_" He heard her drop the phone, only to pick it up a second later. "_No… he's not, is he? He has to be okay!_" She sounded frantic, Roy realized. "_Please, tell me this is all a cruel joke and Ed's standing behind you and laughing!_" She sounded like she was crying.

"I'm sorry, he's not. Would you be able to come to Central? Alphonse is taking it really hard and… well, I'm sure Edward would appreciate knowing you came to visit."

"_Yes, of course. I'll… I'll be on the first train in the morning._"

"I'll send someone to pick you up from the station, then. I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"_No… it's no trouble. Thanks for the call._"

The line went dead, so Roy hung up. He sighed, standing there for a few moments before he said anything.

"She really cares about those boys, doesn't she?"

"I'd believe so." Hawkeye responded. "The Rockbells are the closest thing to family the Elric brothers have. If they didn't care, you couldn't call them family."

"I suppose you're right." He sighed, silent for a moment. "Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Let's get going."

"Of course, sir."

That night, Roy found himself slumped down on his – rather lonely, as there was no other furniture in his lounge room – couch. The ceiling looked rather interesting to him at that moment, perhaps because he was trying to distract himself from the thought of the battered Edward. The memories from the aftermath of the train wreck were still fresh in his mind – pulling the barely recognizable Fullmetal Alchemist from the remains of a crushed train car, sitting beside his stretcher, unable to help when his breathing had ceased. Edward had come so close to dying that day, if those doctors hadn't acted when they did…

Fuery had also mentioned that Edward's heart had stopped – twice! – on the way to Central, as well…

Roy couldn't remember a time when Edward had been closer to death. He knew the boy had been hospitalized after Lab 5, but it hadn't been anywhere near as serious as this was.

"Damn it… I really wish this damn rain would stop." Even if it wasn't raining, he felt as useless as if it was. He knew he wasn't the only one worried about Edward, he knew there was nothing he could've done, he knew that it wasn't his fault, but that didn't stop him from feeling horrible about the whole situation.

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since the train rolled down that cliff, and Edward was still lying in that damn hospital bed, and there was nothing they could do about it. The longer he was in a coma, the greater the chance that there was some serious brain damage that had been done.

There was always the chance that Edward _wouldn't _wake up.

Roy sighed, staring at the ceiling, unable to come to terms with that possibility. Edward would wake up… yes, of course he would. They would just have to keep moving until he did. After all, Edward would be pretty annoyed if he found out they were just sitting around waiting for him to wake up. He didn't like people to worry about him. So maybe it was best if they didn't.

Stupid kid. Of course they were going to worry. That worry was only made worse by the fact that he wasn't improving, and they couldn't help him.

"Now I'm going in circles." Roy mused with a sigh, before he opted to skip dinner and get some rest. He wasn't all that hungry anyway. In the morning, he decided, he would go pick up Winry himself – it was probably the only way he could force himself to go visit Edward again – and escort her to the hospital. He knew he had important paperwork and other irritating articles that were made from trees that could be burnt so easily to sign, but they didn't rank very highly on his agenda right now. "Fullmetal, I gave you an order not to die. That order still stands."

Yes. That order still stood. Hopefully Edward chose to obey his orders this time… hopefully. For his sake.


	4. A Spark that Starts a Flame

_Author's notes: I really had no clue what to write after about the 800 word mark… which is why this took so long… I apologize for that. Then I came up with Hawkeye's little spiel from the line 'how can you be so sure?' I won't reveal anything more here. Go read and find out for yourself, but I must say, thanks to that, I managed to get this up to a semi-acceptable word count without having Roy's mental monologues continue to repeat themselves. As they were beginning to do…_

_**To my anonymous reviewer**__: I'm sure you're not the only one, after all, he's only in a small part of the last two chapters. And yes, she should be able to. One would think._

**Train Wrecked**

Roy glanced up as the 'express' train from Risembool pulled in. He sighed, forcing himself off the bench to stand beside his lieutenant, hands forced into his pockets. "Perhaps this wasn't such a good idea." He mused. Now he was going to have to watch the automail mechanic's reaction to Edward's condition. He had no experience dealing with the Rockbells beyond their meeting all those years ago when he extended the invitation for Edward to take the State Alchemist exam. That lack of experience was only going to make this more difficult…

"There, coming off the second car," he heard Riza speak up, pointing to the blond-haired girl who had just stepped onto the platform, glancing around as if unsure of what to look for. Wordlessly, Roy approached the girl, Hawkeye close behind.

"Ms. Rockbell?" He asked politely, offering a hand, which she accepted hesitantly.

"Please, call me Winry." She replied.

"You might remember me, but I'm Colonel Roy Mustang. We met briefly in Risembool a few years ago." Mustang let his hand drop, and Winry did the same.

"Yes, I remember… have there been any updates on Edward?"

"I'm afraid not. Come with us, we'll take you straight to the hospital."

"Thank you, I appreciate it." Winry smiled slightly. Roy noticed that the smile seemed rather forced, but he supposed, in the circumstances, that was to be expected.

Hawkeye took Winry's suitcase, and the two soldiers escorted her to Roy's car. He let Hawkeye drive, although soon wished he had taken the wheel. He needed something to distract him from that damn awkward silence in the car, and nothing was offering itself. It was all too much of a relief to reach the hospital, at least, until Roy found himself leading the two women through the blasted white hospital walls. He hoped that Edward would at least be somewhat better than he was yesterday, for Winry's sake if nothing else.

It seemed to the Colonel that Alphonse _never _moved. He was still sitting in that exact same spot when they arrived at Edward's hospital room, staring at his brother silently. Roy had to remind himself that Alphonse couldn't eat, sleep or otherwise. Not in that armor. He wondered what the doctors and nurses must've thought, seeing him sitting there 24/7, with no sign of moving.

Edward's condition hadn't changed – which, Roy supposed, was better than it deteriorating. His breaths were still being taken in short, rasped gasps, his chest trembling with the effort it took just to get a single breath into his lungs.

Winry let out a choked sob, shakily moving to Edward's side. She sat on the edge of his bed, gently placing her hand on the side of his face. "Edward? Edward, it's me… please, wake up…" She moved her hand to his shoulder, unable to stop the tears that ran down her face and fell onto the blanket covering the boy, creating dark spots against the white. "Edward… don't do this… wake up!" She shook his shoulder gently, hoping for a miracle, hoping he would open his eyes, smile at her, and ask why she was crying over nothing. But he didn't. There was no response from her childhood friend. She took his hand – his human hand – and held it to her cheek, crying. "Edward…" She placed his hand back down on the bed, and wiped the tears from her eyes. "How… how long has he been like this?"

"Two weeks." Alphonse whispered. "Two weeks and a day." Roy felt a pain in his chest that had nothing to do with physical damage. Alphonse was sitting here, counting every day that Edward was lying in the hospital. He wondered briefly if he had any chance of getting the younger Elric brother to leave this room and go outside for a little while – five minutes, even – but soon disregarded the prospect. Alphonse Elric wasn't going anywhere until Edward Elric was awake and on the mend. "Winry… do you think he'll be okay?"

"Of course." Winry nodded. "I… I don't know when he'll wake up, but I know that Edward won't leave his goals uncompleted." She gave Alphonse a sad, half-forced smile. "He'll wake up, and then you'll get your bodies back."

Roy wished he had the same faith in Edward right now. Winry hadn't seen him covered in blood like he was, crushed inside that train car. Maybe if he hadn't seen that mess, he would've been more optimistic. It would definitely be awhile before Edward woke up. If he woke at all.

"Sir," Riza spoke up quietly, "Perhaps we should leave now."

"Yes, I suppose we should." Mustang sighed. "Winry, if you need anything, Alphonse has my number. Don't hesitate to call."

"Yes," Winry nodded, "thank you, Colonel."

The State Alchemist took his leave, his lieutenant close behind as they walked through the plain hospital hallways. Neither spoke – neither knew what to say. It wasn't as if there was much to say. Edward was lying there, struggling to even _breathe_, and they couldn't help him. It wasn't a state that one would normally see Edward in. Sure, there had been the occasional times when he had been unconscious for a day after he had gotten into a rough fight with the Homunculi, but Edward always had a fast recovery time, and he was back up on his feet – and edgy from the lack of action or general progress – in no time.

"Hey, Chief," Havoc greeted when the Colonel strode into his office, "how's the kid?"

"Same as before." Mustang answered with a sigh.

"I do hope he gets better soon…" Fuery looked down, his shoulders hunched. He looked even smaller like that, but no one made a comment. "Alphonse has been miserable."

"Well, hopefully Ms. Rockbell will be able to cheer him up soon." Hawkeye added, running her hand along Black Hayate's back. The dog had been sleeping in the corner of the office until their arrival, and was now concerned by the dull, edgy atmosphere in the room.

"He can't stay like that forever. I mean," Breda spoke up, referring to Ed, "he's Edward Elric. The Fullmetal Alchemist. The Hero of the People. He won't be down for much longer." They were the words everyone wanted to hear, the words everyone wanted to believe. The problem was, they had a hard time believing them.

"It may be awhile." Falman sighed. "Injuries like the ones he sustained in the derailment are usually fatal, even for someone like him."

"If you're concerned," Mustang snapped, "why don't you go and visit him yourselves?"

"Right now?" Fuery stared at him.

"Yes! Just get out of here!" The Colonel didn't want to hear them talk about Fullmetal. He didn't want to hear them discuss the chances of his survival, of his awakening, of his recovery in general. He especially didn't want to hear about the injuries Edward had sustained. Didn't he have enough scars? Hadn't he already gone through Hell and back? Whose bright idea was it to keep throwing all of this pain and suffering at two brothers who had only wanted to see their mother once again? It was impossible to justify the further injury they were experiencing, just because they wanted to set things right.

"Sir?" Hawkeye interrupted his thoughts. Only then did he realize that everyone else had left. He couldn't blame them – not after he had snapped like that. "I understand that you're stressed. We all are." She paused, watching him, "but there's no reason to take it out on the men."

"I know, Lieutenant." He sighed. "But I really don't want to hear anymore. Tell me, Hawkeye… what do we do if he doesn't wake up? Alphonse will be heartbroken, and after all the encouraging words we've given him… how are we supposed to face him? What am I supposed to write on the post-processing? It was a 'tragic accident that could have been prevented'? Damn it!" The nearest throwable object – Havoc's pack of cigarettes that he had forgotten to retrieve in his haste to avoid the Colonel's rage – found itself meeting the opposite wall at a high speed. Roy slammed his hand down on the table. This was someone's fault, and that someone was going to pay.

"You won't have to worry about that, Sir, because it won't end like that."

"Damn it, how can you be so sure?" Roy's hand remained on the table, being used as a support. A week ago, he would've been certain that Edward would've been fine. A week ago, he had told Alphonse that Edward would probably 'wake up in a day or so'. A week ago, Alphonse's hope had shattered when his brother didn't wake up then. Perhaps Roy's hope had gone with it.

"I can't be." Hawkeye responded. Mustang turned to look at her, surprised. What was she saying? That her words were false? The lieutenant closed her eyes. "I say what I do, because, if I say it enough, the moral of those around me will begin to lift with their hopes. And when their spirits begin to rise, so will the spirits of those who matter." She paused. "They say there is a point when a person in a coma starts to become aware of what is occurring around him. Do you think that Edward would want to lie there, able to hear his brother's lifeless tones and unable to do anything? Do you think that, if he were somehow aware of the low morale around him, aware that everyone had given up on him, that he would _want _to wake up?" She shook her head. "I don't believe he would. So I will continue to speak as if it is a certainty. Because, maybe if I do, eventually it could reach him, and someday soon, he'll storm in here with a poorly written report, slamming the door and calling you names, just as he always has."

Roy was stunned. He had no clue where that had come from, but every word of it rang true to him. He understood what she was trying to establish. If they wanted Edward to wake up, then they had to give him a reason to do so. They had to prove that they hadn't given up on him, that they still had faith in the shrimp and knew that he had the strength to come back to them. He also saw the second point she was making – if their spirits raised, then Alphonse's would, too. There was only so much the half-hearted encouragement they had been giving the younger Elric brother could do. If they truly began to believe that Edward would return to them – as he would, Roy reminded himself – then Alphonse would brighten up, too.

"Alright, Lieutenant." He closed his eyes, a faint smile on his face. "Come on," he turned and headed to the door, his steps purposeful and determined.

"Where to, Sir?"

"The hospital. I need to have a talk to Fullmetal."

He saw a knowing smirk find its way onto Hawkeye's face as she fell into step behind him.

There was no doubt left in his mind. Edward Elric was much too strong physically to let himself just fade away like that. Roy hadn't seen it before – perhaps because it was always his brother there to fill the role, or perhaps something he himself said did it for him, even if the Colonel didn't notice it himself – but now that he thought back on it, it had always been there. In his darkest times, Edward needed some sort of encouragement or advice, some form of support, to get him back on his feet. Mustang's mind trailed back to his first meeting with the boy – those dead-looking eyes, staring up at him, full of fear and regret. How much they had changed as Roy had given him the prospect of joining the military to find a way to regain what he and his brother had lost. They had gone from soulless to determined, as if the Flame Alchemist had somehow managed to set a spark in the boy's golden irises themselves.

A spark that created a flame, a flame which drove him forwards towards his goal.

Yes. That was what Edward needed to wake up. That same mental support those around him had given him without realizing it. He wasn't getting that support now, because, without those clear indicators – the boy's vocal tones, his body language itself, the strength of that fire in his eyes – no one had realized that he needed it. They couldn't hear that Edward was hurting, they couldn't see how he carried himself, and they had no way of realizing that the fire had gone out.

Roy had decided. He would relight that fire in any way he could. It would take time, but he would make sure it returned.


	5. Legal Definitions

_Author's notes: The section about Amestris's legal definition of a 'legal guardian' was spun straight out of my imagination. I imagine Amestris would have its own set of laws, so that was my legal study student part of my brain having a bit of fun by creating her own law for a fantasy world. _

_Lots of stuff happening in this chapter. Hope you enjoy!_

_**To Otaku-chan: **__Thanks for the reviews! I'm glad you like it so far. I was going to say 'don't worry, I'll update as soon as I can' but… well, this is the update, isn't it? XD Thanks again!_

**Train Wrecked**

"Hey, shrimp." Roy called practically as soon as he had stepped into Edward's hospital room. His subordinates, as well as Winry and Alphonse, stared at him in shock and surprise. "I think you're starting to forget that I am your commanding officer, and thus you have to follow my orders to the letter." He was standing at Edward's bedside now, his arms crossed in a stern way. "I don't need to remind you of the exact reasons you joined the military, do I?"

"Colonel…?" Alphonse wasn't sure what was going on. Roy had seemed so down and distant before, and suddenly he had done a complete one-eighty, talking to Edward as if he really was awake.

"Don't forget, Fullmetal. You've got a job to do, and damn it all, I'm not going to stand by and watch as you throw it away. We're all waiting for you. When you're ready, you know what to do." He thought he heard a slight 'ting' of metal hitting metal, but he couldn't be certain, so he ignored it. He had bigger things on his mind right now. "There are people waiting for you to complete your goal. We're all here to support you, so open your damn eyes and let us see through them." He heard another 'ting', and this time, he was sure he wasn't imagining things. Edward's automail finger had twitched, twice, tapping on the metal frame of the bed – it was an unintentional reaction caused simply by the convenient position of his right arm, hanging slightly over the side of the bed.

"Wow, Chief," Havoc spoke up, "that's some speech. Not sure what good it'll do, since he can't hear you…"

"No," Roy shook his head. "He can hear us alright. Can't you, Shorty?" He smirked, leaning over the boy for a moment. He thought he saw Edward's eye twitch ever so slightly. That was all the indication he needed. Edward was still there. He didn't seem quite so near-death, so distant anymore. This was what Fullmetal was waiting for – what he had needed. "And guess what? You'll get to put up with me tomorrow, too. I'll be back to visit you again. Stay sharp, Fullmetal."

With those words left to linger, he turned and left the hospital room again. Hawkeye gave a knowing smirk to the rest of the Flame Alchemist's subordinates.

"Task 1 complete." She spoke, "soon, we'll have them _both _back." With that, she turned to follow her commanding officer. A smirk found its way onto Havoc's face, Fuery grinned excitedly, and Breda laughed, while Falman smiled. Already, it seemed her strategy beginning to work.

The way Roy carried himself had returned to normal. He held himself like a high ranking officer once again, the air of authority that had disappeared over the past two weeks returning. For Hawkeye, it felt like she was following a colonel once again.

The results of the transformation became even more apparent over the next couple of weeks. Alphonse began to leave Edward's hospital room for short amounts of time – usually going to Central library to check out some books in his brother's name. He began to cheer up, slowly, but surely. He stopped counting the days since the train derailed, instead opting to read out loud, hoping his brother could hear.

Mustang began to become more aware of slight reactions from Edward. Whenever he called the Fullmetal Alchemist short, it would usually result in an easily spotted twitch – usually the eye. Often, when someone spoke to him, his hand would shift or twitch.

"You know, Chief," Havoc remarked as the two stood outside of Edward's hospital room, listening as Alphonse read an encrypted alchemy book aloud to his comatose brother. "It's been a month already. Don't you think, if he was going to wake up, he would've?"

"Give him time, Havoc." The colonel responded, glaring at his subordinate, "he's not ready to wake up just yet. He will be soon. After what he's been through, and having to listen to us mope for those first two weeks, I'm not surprised he's taking his time. He's probably trying to piss us off." He smirked in amusement. That would be such an _Edward _thing to do. Havoc let out a slight scoff, a smile finding its way onto his face as he looked into the room, listening to Alphonse as he read, undisturbed by anything around him. Roy was amazed by the Elric brothers' aptitude for losing themselves in alchemy books. It was uncanny.

"Trust me," he spoke again, "it's only a matter of time. We just need to be there to support him, when he finally comes around." Mustang could imagine how pissed off Edward would be if, after all the times they had offered him support, that, when the opportunity came, they were to turn their backs on him. He pulled his pocket watch from his pocket, checking the time with a sigh. "Paperwork's due in an hour…" He mused, unenthusiastic about the prospect. He stepped into the hospital room for the second time that day, a rather unexcited look on his face. "Sorry to interrupt, but it's time for me to get back to work. After all, I have a whole bunch of important and boring paperwork that needs signed that I probably won't even read. Speaking of which, Fullmetal, I'll need a report off you as soon as possible!" He heard Alphonse sigh as he left the room again. Hawkeye could only shake her head as she followed him, hopelessly amused by her commanding officer's antics.

"Perhaps you're a little too enthusiastic, Sir," she mused.

"I'm only treating him as I would if he were awake, Lieutenant."

Well, she supposed, there was no denying _that_.

Havoc bid his farewells, too, following his superiors out of the hospital. "Sir… are you sure he can hear you? I mean, he's in a coma, after all…"

"I've done my research." Roy responded without looking at the 2nd Lieutenant. "He's there. He can hear us, Havoc."

"Whatever you say, Chief…"

Roy returned to his office, glaring at that pile of paperwork on his desk as he slumped into his chair, coat draped across the back of it.

"Might as well get to work," Hawkeye spoke up. "Would you like some help, Sir?"

"No," Mustang sighed, grabbing his pen, "I need the distraction." He responded. Hawkeye instead occupied herself with sorting his memos. There were several of them offering condolences for his 'loss.' Loss of _what_, exactly? She frowned, confused.

"Sir…" She spoke up, just as the colonel placed another piece of paper in his 'signed' stack. "Sir, what losses have we had lately?" Roy didn't acknowledge her, skimming through the forms that had been paperclipped together.

"Like hell!" He yelled suddenly, standing up and crumpling the forms together, throwing them at the wall, leaving them to land on the floor in a paper ball.

"Sir, what is the matter?" Hawkeye demanded, unsure of how to help him.

Roy was furious, snapping his fingers in irritation. It was a saving grace that he wasn't wearing his ignition cloth gloves. He slumped into his chair, rubbing his temples to try and spare himself a headache. Riza retrieved the paper ball, carefully straightening the forms out. Reading the header was enough for her to realize what had possessed her commanding officer to react the way he did. They were post-processing forms for 'State Alchemist Edward Elric'.

The forms went on to describe Edward's state in a coma as a 'vegetative state'. Hawkeye knew this to be untrue – it sounded to her like some sort of plot to discharged Edward. Attached to the post-processing paperwork were forms to authorize 'pulling the plug' on Edward's medications and nutrition, and the administration of a medication to effectively kill him.

It was about that time the phone rang. Mustang was quick to answer, agitation obvious in his tone.

"Colonel Mustang. What is it?"

"_You have an outside call from Winry Rockbell." _

"Patch it through." Roy paused, waiting a few moments, before he spoke. "Hello?"

"_Colonel? It's Winry… the doctors, they're discussing… discussing __**killing **__Ed! They want to pull the plug…" _

"Don't let them anywhere near him. They can't do anything without authorization from a legal guardian. As far as I'm concerned, that may as well be me right now. I'm on my way over. Make sure no one enters that room until I get there besides you and Alphonse. No doctors, no nurses, no one. If there are any complaints, tell them it's a direct order from me." He didn't wait for a response, hanging up the phone briskly. He grabbed his jacket and threw it over his shoulders, before he stormed out of the office. Hawkeye was quick to follow, hoping he didn't do anything too irrational. Like giving a doctor a bloody nose.

On his way out, Mustang paused to look at his subordinates. "I want to find out who the hell requested permission to murder Edward." His voice was practically a snarl. The door slammed shut behind him, only to be opened once again as Riza followed him.

To say that the colonel was furious was an understatement. The moment people saw him, they quickly made to get out of his way, not wanting to test the Flame Alchemist's temper. It was obvious that he wasn't in a very pleasant mood. Hawkeye had the feeling that she might be the only one who could stop him from doing some serious damage to something – or someone.

When they reached the hospital, even the doctors and nurses avoided him. Usually they would ask why he was there or give him updates on Edward's – unchanging – condition. But even they weren't going to test his temper, giving him as much room as he needed – and then some.

He reached Edward's hospital room to find Winry in the hallway, arguing with one of the doctors over whether or not he could enter the room.

"What is going on here?" Roy demanded, causing the doctor to reel for a moment, stepping back. "I don't appreciate the murder of my subordinate being discussed, with or without my authorization!"

"Y-you see," the doctor stuttered, trying to find a way to get around the colonel. He was shorter than Roy, with neat, dark hair and dark eyes. "Without a legal guardian and the only kin being underage, the authorization over his treatment falls to the hospital itself."

"The Elric brothers have a legal guardian."

"I'm afraid the legal definition of a 'guardian' in this country includes them-"

"I know the legal definitions!" Roy was aware that he was shouting.

In Amestris, the definition of a legal guardian – in the context they were using the term, 'in the sense of a _parental _legal guardian' as the two were different by definition in Amestrian law – was the person fulfilling the role of a mother, father or similar family relationship for an underage individual while caring for them. This included the underage individual living with or regularly staying in the guardian's property – house, apartment, and so on. It was entirely acceptable by Amestrian law for an underage individual to have no legal guardian if they had a means of supporting themselves. But, if there was no legal guardian, authorization for medical care fell to the doctors themselves.

This was the issue they were facing now.

"I don't give a damn what legal loophole you've found to murder my subordinate, but there is no way I will allow you or any other doctor to kill him, damn it!" He was probably disturbing the other patients now, but Roy really couldn't care less.

"I… if you're willing, if the boy wakes up of course," the doctor was stuttering again, "to allow him to stay with you while he recovers, we could list you as the legal guardian, and then we wouldn't have this issue again, sir."

"See to it." Mustang hissed, before, "Get the hell out of my sight." The doctor quickly ran off, leaving the State Alchemist, his lieutenant and the automail mechanic standing in the hallway, an uneasy silence falling over the three of them. Roy scoffed, before walking into Edward's hospital room. Alphonse was standing there, his hands clenched together and his shoulders hunched, as if trying to make himself look smaller. Roy could only sigh, "sorry about that."

"No…" Alphonse shook his head, his voice soft and quiet, "it's not your job to look after us… but you did anyway… thank you, Sir."

"I'm not going to let them murder him." Mustang turned to look at Edward. His breaths were even – he was no longer struggling just to get air into his lungs. Because of this, the oxygen mask was gone. There was a frustrated, perhaps irritated expression on Edward's face, his jaw clenched. "You can relax, Fullmetal. No one's letting you die." That much was certain.

Immediately, Roy requested a change of staff assigned to Edward, and set to work finding out who in the military had issued the post-processing to him while Edward was alive and breathing. The forms were meant to have their point of origin stamped on them, but the stamp was missing – forgotten or purposely left out.

It was just as he grabbed a set of forms regarding the extension of Edward's military-funded hospital stay that the phone call came through.

"Colonel Roy Mustang."

"_There's a call from Winry Rockbell for you, sir."_

"Patch it through."

"_Sir?" _

"What is it, Winry?"

"_It's about Edward, Sir…"_


	6. Train? What train?

_Author: So I heard you didn't like my cliffhanger XDDD I don't usually use cliffhangers in fics like this, but it fit too well. I'll try to keep them to a minimum for you. I just wanted to say, you guys are epic. This is the fastest I have ever gotten this many reviews for any of my fanfictions. I really appreciate the support. Thanks, guys. I'm not sure how long this will be at this point, but anyway…_

_**To UnknownReader: **__You really think so? I'm so glad! It makes me happy when people say that about my stories. Thank you so much!_

_**To Random Fangirl: **__Haha, here's your update! You'll find out soon ;)_

_**To Fireena: **__Haha, like I said, I'll try to keep those to a minimum from now on. Here's that update you were asking for!_

**Train Wrecked**

_Ring~ Ring~ Ri-_

"Colonel Roy Mustang."

"_There's a call from Winry Rockbell for you, sir."_

"Patch it through."

"_Sir?" _

"What is it, Winry?"

"_It's about Edward, Sir…"_ There was an uneasy pause that concerned Roy. He didn't like it – that pause made him think that something had gone wrong, or that Edward's condition had worsened. Her voice was shaking slightly, as if she was unsure of what was going on.

"What is it?"

"_He's awake. He's finally awake…" _From the sound of her voice, Roy could tell that she was shocked, in disbelief and completely overjoyed.

"We'll be right down." Roy practically dropped the phone onto the cradle, shaking in disbelief as he stood. He had to place his hands on his desk to steady himself, aware of the grin that was probably on his face.

Edward was awake. For the last week, Mustang had been fighting against the hospital to make sure that he remained the 'legal guardian' of the Elric brothers, all the while trying to find who had sent him the post-processing papers. It had been about a week since the doctors had tried to pull the plug on the Fullmetal Alchemist.

Roy couldn't put how he felt into words – he was ecstatic, essentially. They had spent over a month visiting the boy constantly, watching as, for the longest time, there had been no improvement in his condition at all.

And now? Edward was awake. Edward was going to _live_! He was going to find that goddamned stone, and he was going to find a way to recover what he and his brother had lost. There was nothing left but a little bit of rehabilitation.

Roy found himself laughing out loud, shaking his head. "You really took us for a ride there, Fullmetal." He mused and grabbed his coat.

"Hey, Chief?" Havoc stood up hesitantly, "is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong, Havoc." Roy replied as he pulled his coat on. "Fullmetal's finally decided that he had enough of sleeping." He watched his subordinates as that slowly began to sink in. "Edward Elric has woken up." In a moment, everyone had put their things away and stood up, following their commanding officer out of the office.

It was probably a confusing sight for the poor boy when the six soldiers practically charged into his hospital room half an hour later.

Edward was sitting up, in a daze that made it look like he was only half awake – which, Roy supposed, if he had been sleeping for five weeks, it would take him awhile to wake up, too. He stared at them for a few moments, as if trying to figure out what had happened to cause them to burst into his hospital room like that. Eventually, a grin found its way onto his face.

"Hey… I guess I gave you a bit of a scare…"

"You think?" Roy rolled his eyes, before he moved to sit on the edge of Edward's bed. "You had us all really worried there, shrimp."

"WHO'RE-YOU-CALLING-A-SHRIMP-WHO-IS-SO-SMALL-HE-CAN-FIT-IN-THE-RAIN-DROPS-THAT-MAKE-YOU-SO-USELESS?"

_A short rant and an insult in one._ Roy mused, a smirk on his face. _Not bad, Fullmetal. _The rant wasn't quite as intense as it usually was, but it was still something.

"Brother," Alphonse sighed, but didn't go on to continue scolding the older Elric.

"That's the most he's said in a sentence so far." Winry laughed, a smile on her face. Edward tilted his head, as if confused. His eyes unnerved Roy – they were foggy, unclear and unfocused. The fire behind them was unusually dim, but that all could've been credited to his lethargy from the disorientation. Roy noticed that his left leg was missing – Winry had probably removed it to do repairs, though, so it wasn't too much of a concern. Edward's breathing was fine, most of his injuries had healed over pretty well… but Roy couldn't stop himself from wondering if something was still wrong…

_You're being unreasonable. Of course he's going to be a little weak still. You're just not used to seeing him like this. _Mustang scolded himself.

"It's good to see you're awake, Fullmetal."

"Yeah, well…" Edward crossed his arms and looked away. "It's good to see you decided to give a damn." It was barely a mutter, but Roy heard it alright. He chuckled quietly.

"We'll have to discuss your accommodation later…" He mused, "since we've gotten ourselves involved in a legal battle."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"You're stuck living with me until you've finished recovering. Then we can claim that you are healthy enough to support yourself once again and don't need a legal guardian."

"I don't need one now!" Edward exclaimed.

"Brother, please," Alphonse sighed, "if the Colonel didn't agree… they were going to kill you…" Edward froze at the desperate tone in his brother's voice. Roy watched the boy completely change – before, he had been his defiant self, but now, he seemed more passive, accepting even. The colonel reminded himself to keep a closer eye out to see if the boys were always able to do that to each other with just a few words.

"Sorry…" It had been barely a whisper from the Fullmetal Alchemist. Roy was amazed that he had heard it at all. "I didn't mean to… to scare you like that…"

"This is probably a bad time," Roy interrupted. He wanted to change the subject before Edward fell into one of his slumps of self-blame and despair. "But do you remember what happened when the train derailed?" He doubted it – Edward seemed to have a difficult time registering most things right now – but it was the best topic changer he could think of.

"Train…?" Edward frowned, his eyebrows bunching together in frustration as he tried to find memories that weren't there. "I thought… I don't remember a train… we were in New Optain for that inspection, weren't we?"

Roy knew then that something was wrong. The New Optain inspection was six months ago. Edward had been returning from assignment out near Riviere – nowhere near New Optain. Mustang looked at Alphonse, whose crimson eyes were taking up the entirety of the eyes of his helmet, wide in fear. He then turned to Hawkeye, who was looking down and away, shaking her head slowly. The rest of his subordinates looked uneasy or shocked.

"Brother…" Alphonse gently put his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Brother, we haven't been in the East Area for six months. You've only been in hospital for five weeks."

"Shit." Edward cursed, slumping back onto the bed. He knew that wasn't a good sign, but the last thing he remembered was the inspection in New Optain. He looked frustrated, Roy mused, watching as the boy stared blankly at the ceiling, his hair fisted in his hands as he threatened to pull it out. "You've gotta be kidding me…"

"What else have you forgotten?" Roy challenged.

"How the fuck should I know?"

"Language, Fullmetal."

Edward didn't reply, glaring at the ceiling. Roy sighed. Time for a pop quiz.

"What are the three stages of alchemy?"

"Comprehension, or understanding." Edward started, "Deconstruction, then reconstruction."

"In Equivalent Exchange, what is the Law of Conservation of Mass?"

"You cannot create something from nothing, and you cannot turn something into nothing, essentially."

"And the Law of Natural Providence?"

"An object can only be transmuted into an object that has the same elemental properties."

"What are the Four Classical Elements and the Three Essential Principles?"

"Water, earth, fire, air and salt, sulfur and mercury."

"Well," Roy mused, looking over at Alphonse after he had gone through the essentials and purposes of Transmutation Circles with Edward, "he still knows the alchemy basics, which is a good sign for him." That meant that it would be easier for Edward to return to normal life, even with those missing memories. At this point, he didn't seem to be missing anything essential, just a handful of assignments and dead leads from those six months. Roy figured, _that _was a good sign.

"What if I've forgotten other things?" Edward asked. "Alchemy's always been there, it's not something that I could forget. But what about events? People? Places? What if I've forgotten something important?"

"We'll figure out what it is."

"Besides," Winry spoke up, her voice audibly shaky. "Al would remember, right, Al?"

"Yeah," Alphonse nodded, sounding more enthusiastic than his childhood friend, "of course."

Edward smiled at his younger brother, untangling his fingers from his hair before he dropped his hands onto the pillow beneath his head. He looked a lot more relaxed now, not so upset as he had been when he discovered that he was missing six month's worth of memories – possibly more, they weren't sure if other fragments had been lost.

It was shortly after that when the doctor appeared to give an assessment on Edward's physical state. He had been slightly disappointed to find that Edward's leg had been removed temporarily, and thus they couldn't see how steady he was on his feet, but didn't complain. He seemed less than pleased with Edward's motor skills.

Or, Roy should've said, lack of.

Edward's co-ordination had gone to hell and had yet to come back. He had trouble with executing the commands given. He could handle the simple stuff without too much trouble, but he had trouble with more difficult tests.

Roy knew something was severely wrong when he had the same issues with both arms – flesh and automail.

Automail receives signals directly from the brain through the nerves, without the interference and limitations of human muscle and bone. Which meant his issues with his motor skills had nothing to do with his muscles – it was either the nerves themselves or there was some brain damage to blame.

Edward's lack of ability only served to frustrate him further. If he had both legs, Roy wouldn't have been surprised to see him storm out of the room. Instead, as soon as the doctor was gone, Edward opted to shout out his frustrations to the ceiling, some long and colorful phrases and slurs Roy hadn't been aware his subordinate knew escaping the boy's lips. Finally, Edward seemed to give up, and rolled onto his side, facing away from the door.

"Just… go."

Roy sighed, gently placing his hand on Edward's arm. "Fullmetal…" he sighed, realizing that he really didn't know what to say to cheer the boy up. "Don't hesitate to call if you need something." Edward shrugged his shoulders in an attempt to remove the hand from his arm.

"Get _out_."

With another sigh, Mustang turned and left the room, taking his subordinates with him. "He needs some time to cool his head." He explained as they left the hospital. "He'll calm down, soon enough."

"He's taking it awfully hard, though… I mean," Havoc remarked, "you think he'd be happy to be alive."

"He's mad at himself." Hawkeye shook her head. "He is happy to be alive, but he doesn't like feeling useless anymore than any of us. He's suddenly missed six months he was involved in. Not only is he out of the loop, but he won't be able to fight to the best of his ability unless he recovers his fine motor skills."

Roy sighed. He had a feeling that Edward was going to be a handful…

Then again, wasn't he always?


	7. Walking Away

_Author's notes: WEEEEEEEEE Fast update. I got stumped about half way through – how was I supposed to write the other half of the chapter when all he's doing is signing paperwork? Paperwork is very uneventful, I found. BUT, I managed! Anyway, I hope you enjoy!_

_**To Fireena: **__Quick on updates… well, let me say you guys are lucky with this fic that 1) I have enough ideas to keep it going and 2) my brain hasn't gone off and planned scenes for three chapters away and I've gotten frustrated that I can't write them earlier. That's what happened to several of my other fics… Haha, anyway, here's your chapter ;)_

**Train Wrecked**

"Damn it! I _told _you I can't!"

Roy sighed, standing over the boy, collapsed on the floor of his hospital room. So much for _that _idea. "If you don't even _try_, Fullmetal, you have no hope of walking." Edward glared up at him, but soon, he was pushing himself into a sitting position. "Come on, Edward," the colonel crouched down beside him, putting his arm around Edward's waist. "We need to get you walking, so we can get you out of this place." He gently pulled the boy to his feet, holding him up as he tried to get his feet underneath him to support himself. The moment Edward thought he finally managed to support himself, his legs gave way and he collapsed again. Roy was quick to catch him, crouched down with the boy in his arms.

There was no fire in Edward's unfocused eyes. No matter how hard he had tried, Roy couldn't get the sparks he started to light. He had tried going through the complex areas of alchemy with the boy – it had gained his attention for a little while, but he soon grew bored. He had tried bringing books in for him to read – the last attempt was still lying on the side table, untouched. Edward was slowly regressing back to that eleven year old boy in the wheelchair, and Mustang didn't want that. So, he had tried to get the boy to walk on his own two feet, but with his lack of co-ordination, his legs just wouldn't do what he wanted them to. The fact that they hadn't been used in five weeks didn't help.

"This is stupid." He heard the boy hiss. "Why are you bothering?"

"You've come too far to give in now, Fullmetal." Roy stood, pulling Edward up with him. "If not for yourself, stand up for your brother." Edward's breath hitched and his eyes widened. He probably would've fallen again, if Roy hadn't had such a strong grip on his arms. There was a long silence as Edward 'stood' there, his eyes distant.

"…Help me."

"Why do you think I've bothered to be here, Fullmetal?"

"I dunno, I figured you had some paperwork to avoid."

Roy shook his head with a sigh. He put one arm around Edward's upper back, holding him up, while he offered the other one for the boy to grip onto. It was all the colonel could do to stop himself from wincing at the vice grip Edward's automail hand had on his upper arm.

"You think you can walk?"

Edward didn't answer, instead attempted to place his right foot in front of his left. Roy felt the weight in his arms increase as the boy stumbled, dragging the older alchemist down with him.

"I think… I need to sit down."

Roy sighed. Well, he had gotten Fullmetal to stand, he supposed he would have to try to get him to walk some other time. He slipped his arm under the boy's knees, holding his other at the boy's back, as he picked him up and stood. Mustang laid the boy down on the hospital bed and pulled his hair from the ponytail Winry had put it in for him.

"Get some rest, Fullmetal. That's an order."

"Screw you."

"Your brother should be back soon." Roy added as he left the hospital room. Hawkeye was standing outside, and fell into step behind him as he began to walk down the hall.

She didn't ask any questions when he stopped at the library. He moved from shelf to shelf, looking for anything he could on the subject of brain damage. There wasn't much to be found, other than what the doctors had already told him. There was a possibility that the damage was temporary – a side effect of the coma, perhaps – but it was impossible to say at this point. Roy wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help Edward, but he wasn't finding anything useful. He sighed, placing the books back on the shelves. In the end, he took one book with him to read in his free time, just in case it had anything useful in it.

He found himself reading the book as he wandered down the hallways of Central Command, completely distracted. He missed Hawkeye's warning, and ended up walking straight into someone else.

"Oh ow… OH! Colonel, I'm sorry!"

It took Mustang a moment to register the mousy-haired girl in front of him. "Sheska?"

"Forgive me, Sir, I wasn't watching where I was going." She quickly picked up the book and handed it to him. "If you don't mind me asking, why are you reading about the brain?"

For a moment, Roy wondered how she would've known exactly what he was reading – the book fell closed on landing – but figured the title was plenty for her to remember every word written in the book. He sighed, shaking his head.

"Edward woke up, but the doctors have been saying that he's had some damage done to the areas of the brain that control his motor functions." He stood, helping the bookworm to her feet. "I was researching to see if there was any way to help him."

"Oh dear…" Sheska frowned. "I wonder if the damage was done to the cerebellum… that would be terrible if it was… maybe the frontal lobes? No, it doesn't sound like paralysis…" She held her finger to her lips to her moment, pondering. "I'm no doctor, but isn't it possible that it'll heal on its own?"

"It is, but it's not certain. Any cells that were killed won't grow back, but it is possible for him to relearn certain skills."

"I hope so. Maybe… do you think it would be alright if I visited him?"

"Wait a couple days. He's… He hasn't been in the best mood lately."

"Yes, of course." Sheska bowed slightly, "excuse me, sir."

Roy stepped to the side, allowing her to rush off to finish whatever it was she was doing before.

"You should pay more attention, sir." Hawkeye spoke up. Mustang didn't speak, instead opting to continue on his own route to his office, book closed and held at his side, rather than open and in his face.

While he signed his paperwork that afternoon, he pondered on how to deal with Edward's condition.

Living in a narrow rent house meant that there were two stories – bottom floor was kitchen/dining and the living room, while the upstairs was the bedroom and office. Which meant that Roy was going to need to set up some form of sleeping arrangements in the living room – at least until Edward recovered further.

"Things are going to be chaotic at home when he's out of hospital…"

"You didn't have to agree to take him in." Hawkeye responded.

"What was I supposed to do?"

"They're thankful for your help. Edward appreciates what you've done, too. But he's just too proud to say it."

Hawkeye was quite observant, Roy mused. She had an extremely good judgment of character, as well, which was always helpful to her while she tried to protect the colonel. "So," She spoke up, "what are you planning?"

Roy sighed. He really wasn't sure what to do. "Well… for now, all we can do is help with his rehabilitation." He mused. Really, the hospital could take care of that, but Mustang didn't like sitting there and doing nothing as if he was completely useless. "Then, once he's out of hospital, the brothers will have to come and stay with me while he finishes recovering."

There was still something that unnerved and concerned Roy. Edward's eyes still hadn't properly focused. They weren't clouded anymore, but there was no fire in them and it seemed that Edward wasn't focusing on anything. That worried him. It was as if Edward had no drive anymore, as if he had lost his determination.

"What do you think, Lieutenant?" Roy asked when he voiced his concerns. She only sighed.

"He hasn't been awake for very long, sir. Perhaps you should give him more time before you start to worry too much. It would only give him something to rant about later."

Roy couldn't help but smirk, knowing how Edward _hated _it when people showed concern for his well being. At the same time, though, the boy appreciated it more than anyone could realize. He just hid it underneath insults and rants about his – lack of – height.

"I know, Lieutenant. I just don't like seeing him like that. It's he's turning back into that boy from four years ago…"

"Give him time, sir."

Roy sighed, about to speak again when the phone shrilled into life, interrupting him before he could start. Deftly, he picked up the phone and answered it. "Colonel Roy Mustang."

"_Sir, there's a call for you from Winry Rockbell." _

Roy frowned, wondering what could've happened to demand a phone call so shortly after he had been at the hospital himself. "Patch it through."

"_Sir?" _

"What's wrong?"

"_Edward's not in his room. We don't know where he went…"_

"He can't walk. Where _could _he have gone?"

"_They said he requested a wheelchair shortly after you left…" _

"God damn it, Edward!" Roy snapped his fingers in reflex. Behind him, Hawkeye sighed. "Hang on, we'll be right there." He threw the phone down on the receiver, grabbing his coat as he stood. "Edward's disappeared." He explained to his subordinates as he left the office. They were all quick to follow – no one wanted to see the kid get hurt.

They met Winry and Alphonse in the hospital waiting room. The two were both uneasy, you could tell by the way Alphonse shifted and the worried expression on Winry's face.

"We've looked everywhere in the hospital…" Winry told him. "We can't find Edward anywhere… the doctors are searching, too, but…"

"They said there's a park across the road where families can take the patients," Alphonse explained, "but they aren't allowed to go there on their own."

"The doctors would've noticed if he tried leaving the hospital." Roy remarked. "We'll split up, and do one last search of the hospital grounds. Meet back here in half an hour." He instructed the group on where they were to search, and the group split up.

Roy searched the floor that Edward's hospital room was on. Edward wasn't in his room, and none of the doctors saw him in any of the other rooms. It was as if he had just vanished – no one saw him after he had been given the wheelchair.

The result from everyone else was the same. No one had seen Edward anywhere since Roy left. Which meant he wasn't in the hospital anymore.

"What if he's been kidnapped?" Winry asked, the concern evident in her voice. "I mean, isn't that State Alchemist killer still around? What if he's…"

"I'm sure he's fine." Roy sighed, "he's probably just gotten bored of the hospital… we'll have a look at the park and if he's not there, we'll call a search party from Central Command. We'll find him." Edward was in for one hell of a lecture when they did. Disappearing like that… did he not realize how much they worried about him?

Roy lead the makeshift search party from the hospital, across the block and down the road a little ways to where he remembered the park to be. There were some kids there, as well as quite a few hospital patients with their families. There were swings and climbing equipment for the kids, with benches off to the side for their families. The entire area had grass covering the ground, trees offering shade for those wanting to get out of the sun.

They found an abandoned wheelchair near one of the benches, prompting them to increase their search. Edward wasn't near the wheelchair, which concerned them. No one seemed to be laying claim to the abandoned chair, either.

"Look!" Alphonse exclaimed, pointing at one of the nearby trees. Beneath the tree was a familiar blond-haired boy, his hair left loose as he probably couldn't retie it in his current condition. "Brother!" Edward turned around, a grin on his face. It took Roy a moment realize why Edward was grinning like that.

He was standing. On his own.

Suddenly, any thoughts of scolding the boy went out the window as he slowly limped towards the group. He collapsed a few feet away from them, prompting Roy to dart forwards to catch him.

"I think that's enough walking for today, Fullmetal." He remarked. Winry bolted over to Edward, wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"You idiot, running off like that." She mumbled. Edward looked slightly off-put, muttering an apology. Roy couldn't help but smile slightly. Perhaps Hawkeye was right – Edward just needed time to recover, and he'd be back as strong as before.

Winry soon released Edward, allowing Roy to pick the boy up – he certainly wasn't going to be walking any further.

"Hey! I can walk! I don't need to be carried! Put me down!" Edward complained, beating his left fist against Roy's shoulder. "Put me down!" His complains became increasingly louder, but went ignored by the older alchemist.

"Welcome back, Fullmetal."

"PUT ME DOWN!"

Roy could only smirk, shaking his head.

"Damn it, Mustang!"

The colonel laughed as Edward finally gave up, crossing his arms with an annoyed 'huff'.

_Yes… welcome back, Ed._


	8. Safeguard

_Author's notes: I have over 50 reviews on this story! I really love you guys for helping me get that many! Otaku-Chan is the 50__th__ reviewer, if I'm not mistaken. Also: HAPPY (LATE) EASTER! Whether you celebrate Easter for the chocolate or as a religious holiday, I hope you had a good day. If you don't celebrate Easter, have some chocolate for the heck of it. _

_**To Fireena: **__Haha, your favorite? Really? Well, I'll try to keep up the good reputation, then ;) And hopefully! I've got a couple for later on, but we'll save those for later, huh?_

_**To Otaku-chan: **__Don't worry, the investigation into that is still going on in the background. You'll find out later ;) _

_Yay awakeness! Ed always has problems are you surprised? And… I think it's a bit of both. That and, Al's a suit of armor. It's hard to show emotions as a suit of armor. _

_Nope, no Ed-stealing today. And Riza is never wrong. She's that character who says something and you have to stop and go "was that foreshadowing or a random comment? ?" _

_**To randomfangirl: **__That is a very good reaction to have ^^ And your wait is over!_

_**To Anon: **__It means a lot to me. I take every review – anonymous or not – personally. I'm glad that you like the story so far, and I hope you like it in the future, too. Thank you. _

**Train Wrecked**

"He hasn't run away again, has he?" Roy asked Winry jokingly, ignoring the glare he was receiving from the blond haired boy.

"No," she laughed, "but he is sure complaining about being stuck here."

"Well," Roy walked over to Edward, a smirk on his face. "Lucky for you, the doctors say that you're healthy enough to check out." The boy's face brightened visibly, and he quickly stood up, stumbling slightly. He wasn't fully confident on his feet yet, but he was determined to walk on his own.

"What are we waiting for, then? Let's get out of this place!" He exclaimed.

"Wait just a minute, Fullmetal." Mustang sighed. "Al, you find his clothes, and I'll go sign him out." He figured that Edward would've re-transmuted his clothes like he always did when they were torn up after a fight. If he didn't, Alphonse would've for him.

Roy didn't think he imagined the look of relief on the doctor's face as he finished scribbling 'R. Mustang' on the dotted line in a scrawl-like cursive on the papers for Edward's release. He supposed Edward would've been a real handful just to keep in the hospital, let alone to treat. If he was half as difficult in the hospital as he was to work with, Roy figured the poor doctors wouldn't know what to do with the defiant teenager.

By the time he returned to Edward's room, the boy had already changed into his black pants and shirt, and was – clumsily – trying to pull his black jacket on, Winry trying to help him. His red coat was left draped on the end of the bed. There were no signs of the rips or bloodstains from the train crash left on his clothes. Winry then helped him pull his red coat over his arms, before pulling his hair from the ponytail, braiding it deftly. Edward didn't complain, an amused smirk on his face.

"Have you _always _been like this, Winry?" He laughed jokingly. She huffed.

"Of course I have. And you better get used to it." The mechanic shook her head. "I have to go back to Rush Valley tonight, but I'll stay with you until then, okay?" Edward nodded, smiling at her.

"Thanks."

Roy took the rest of the day off of work so he could help the two brothers move into his house. Of course, there wasn't much to move, just Edward's suitcase and the boys themselves. Edward stood in Roy's living room awkwardly, as if unsure of what he was supposed to do now. His suitcase was left at the end of the couch, as they didn't want to test Edward's ability to get up and down stairs yet – they had managed to locate all the ramps in the hospital on their way out, thankfully.

"You alright, Fullmetal?" Roy questioned, noticing the blank look on the boy's face.

"I just… is this really necessary? We should be getting back on the roa-" He winced as Roy smacked him across the side of the head.

"You're kidding me, Fullmetal. You are in _no state _to be getting back on the road. You can barely _walk_, how do you expect to defend yourself against Scar or the Homunculi?"

"I…" Edward fell to his knees, lowering his head. He slammed his automail hand into the floor. "Damn it! This isn't going to help us get our bodies back! Why the hell did this have to happen?" Roy crouched down in front of the boy, gently placing his hand on Edward's shoulder.

"You shouldn't beat yourself up. Once you're fully recovered, I'll authorize for you to continue searching, but until then, you aren't going anywhere, Fullmetal."

"Damn it…" Edward cursed. Alphonse gently put his hand on his brother's back, offering silent comfort.

"You don't have any new leads anyway, Edward."

Roy stood and headed into the kitchen. He realized then that he had very little food in the house – after all, he did live alone, up until now, and even then, he spent most of his time at work, where there was a cafeteria that he could buy food from.

In the end, he did manage to find a bag of potato chips in his all too empty cupboards. He offered it to the short teenager when he returned to the lounge room. Grudgingly, Edward took the chips and ate them where he was sitting on the floor, offering a couple to Winry out of politeness.

Roy escorted the three to the train station that night. He didn't want to leave the Elric brothers on their own for too long – not with Edward still recovering. Fullmetal was quick to pay for Winry's tickets for her.

"Edward, you didn't have to…" She replied, but trailed off when he shook his head.

"You came all the way out here to make sure I was alright. Of course I had to."

Winry sighed, hugging the young State Alchemist tightly. "Stay safe, alright, Ed? I don't want a phone call saying that you're injured or worse… I can fix your automail, Edward, I can even replace lost limbs, but I can't replace _you_."

Edward hugged the mechanic back, humming quietly. "I know, Winry. I'll be more careful, alright? Don't worry."

Winry smiled softly as she released him. She said her goodbyes to the group, and thanked Roy.

"What for?" The colonel asked. Sure, he'd take the thanks, but he wanted to know why he was getting it.

"For calling me, and for taking care of Edward." She explained. Edward scratched his head, and muttered something that was probably insulting Roy. "He doesn't realize it, I know, but he does need people to look after him."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here…" Edward muttered. The two ignored the comment.

"Don't worry about it." Roy replied. "As his commanding officer, I do have a responsibility for his well-being."

"Perhaps… but parenting wasn't in your job description, I'm sure." Winry smiled, before saying her farewells, disappearing into the crowds of Central Station. What she said was true – parenting _wasn't _in the job description of a State Alchemist or a colonel… but was he really parenting the Elric brothers? The way he saw it, all he was doing was keeping them alive.

Roy escorted the two boys back to the car. He paused, concerned, when Edward stumbled down the steps. The boy caught himself however, cursing something about his legs not doing what he wanted them to.

"It's not as bad with my right leg…" He explained, "but because of the signals in my brain, and the fact that automail only receives signals, I'm used to just assuming that it's going where I want it too." He scoffed. "Damn it." Roy could only imagine how frustrating it had to be for the boy, your body just simply not doing what you want it too. Not only that, but it was rather dangerous, because who knew what would happen if he got into trouble and couldn't fight properly.

They'd just have to keep him out of trouble, wouldn't they? Oh yeah, keeping Edward Elric out of trouble sounded like a mission and three quarters.

"You need help?" The colonel offered, watching as Edward began curling his automail fingers into a fist repeatedly. He then did the same with his human arm, ignoring Mustang altogether. "Fullmetal…" He sighed, before grabbing the kid by his hood, dragging him to the car against his protests.

"HEY! I'm gunna fall over and crack my skull open! It won't be my fault when I'm in hospital for another five weeks!" Edward yelped as Roy shoved him into the passenger seat of the car.

"We have places to be, Fullmetal."

"Thanks." Edward muttered, situating himself in the car properly before Alphonse closed the door behind him. "I was starting to doubt whether or not you were strict enough to be a colonel. Now I know, you are _definitely _a soldier."

Roy ignored Edward as he started the car. He waited until Alphonse had closed the back door before he pulled away from the train station. Edward curled up in the seat, his small size allowing him extra room to move.

"Don't get mud on the seat." The older alchemist warned. He wasn't going to do anything if Edward _did_, but he figured it might as well have been said.

"Screw you." Came the defiant response from the blond teenager. Roy swore he saw the kid purposely run the edge of the red soles of his boots on the seat, but he didn't say anything about it.

He wasn't surprised to see that Edward was fast asleep by the time they had reached Roy's house. He was still recovering after all; he needed more sleep than usual. That, and Edward slept _a lot _for a usual teen. When he wasn't hot on the trail of the Philosopher's Stone or something like that, anyway. With a sigh, Roy carefully opened the passenger side door, catching the teen when he started to fall. Edward didn't even stir as the colonel lifted him into his arms and carried him inside. Alphonse closed the car door and followed.

Damn, Fullmetal was _heavy_. Who knew a boy that size could weigh so much? It was no wonder the kid was so short – most of the weight was from his automail! That could not be good on his back, that metal _brick _hanging off his shoulder constantly. Roy could only wonder how much extra strength he needed just to walk normally… Maybe that was part of the reason Edward was having so much trouble…

Roy laid the boy on the couch and gently pulled his hair tie free, carefully running his fingers through the golden strands of hair, pulling the braid out completely.

"Hey, Alphonse," he spoke, his voice low so as not to disturb the teenager sleeping on his couch, "could you get a blanket from the guest room? It's the first room on the left."

"Sure." Alphonse nodded, disappearing upstairs, his footsteps loud with the metal clanks that rang out every time he put a foot down. Roy thought he would've been used to that by now, but apparently not.

He pulled Edward's shoes off next, leaving them dropped haphazardly at the side of the couch. He would've removed the boy's jackets for him, but he figured that risked waking Fullmetal. Alphonse returned with a blanket, which Roy left draped over the sleeping alchemist.

It was so odd. Roy saw nothing that indicated Edward was a pain in the ass, defiant, or an insubordinate dog of the military. He seemed so much like a peaceful kid, a kid who hadn't been to hell and back. But Roy knew the truth. Edward didn't seem dangerous now, didn't seem like he was suffering, but Roy knew. Edward would be suffering for every day of his life until he restored his brother's body. Perhaps even afterwards. Roy knew all too well.

"Your brother's an idiot." He remarked to Alphonse. "Sometimes I wonder if being the military's dog is too much for him. You're just kids, after all…"

"We grew up a long time ago." Came the soft answer from the armor. "We had to. It was only us, after all."

Roy closed his eyes and looked away. That pain in his chest was back. These boys should not have had to go through that.

"Where the hell is your father, anyway?" It was meant to be an up in the air question – he knew the answer – but Alphonse replied anyway.

"No one knows. He just… disappeared when we were young. I barely remember him." He trailed off for a moment, "Brother hates him for it."

Roy sighed, gently brushing Edward's hair from his face – it was a lost cause, as the hair just fell back into place.

Mustang had plenty to think about that night. He wondered who the hell would leave those two boys alone with their ill mother, never to return even several years later. He couldn't remember the man's name – he was sure he had heard Edward use it as a curse before – or whether either of the Elric boys had mentioned what the man did for a living before he disappeared.

Well, it was clear enough to him that Edward _certainly _didn't want the man around, so that was enough for Roy at this point. He wasn't going to go digging into it any further right now. Besides, he wanted to get a bit of sleep tonight. He'd have to monitor Edward for the next few days, he knew. Which meant dragging the brat all the way to Central Command and back… wasn't there an _easier _way to do this? He knew he couldn't afford to take any more time off…

_Damn it, Mustang! Go to sleep already!_


	9. NOT an earlybird

_Author's notes: Haha, I love the fact that isn't blocked at school. Yeah, Australian Easter holidays ended quite painfully. I really don't want to be at school right now… Eh, well, at least it's only a three day week (and I get to go to TAFE on Fridays, so that's not too painful… except is blocked at TAFE… something about 'mature content'. That's what we get for having an M rated section XD) _

_I apologize for any typos, spelling mistakes, etc. _

_**To Fireena: **__Of course you do! The first two letters of defiance is just 'Ed' backwards. And it just might. Of course, it could help him, too, but we'll just have to wait and see. _

_A little bit ;) There might be some more moments like that later, too… but not right now _

_Haha, I'll try!_

**Train Wrecked**

"Damn it, Mustang! Why are you dragging me out at this hour?" Edward complained. "I don't wake up before eight!"

"I noticed, Fullmetal. Why do you think I always make your reports due by noon and _not _first thing in the morning?"

This was what Roy got for trying to take care of the boy. It was six thirty in the morning, and they had half an hour before they had to be at Central Command. Edward was _not _an early-bird, Mustang realized.

"Edward, I am not leaving you here alone. Not in your condition." Roy pondered whether or not to threaten the boy – it seemed to work must of the time, after all. If Edward kept up the act, a threat was definitely in order.

"I'm not an invalid!"

"I didn't say you were!"

"You inferred it! You mean you can't leave me home alone because I'm _disabled_! I won't be alone! Al's still here!"

"Fullmetal, I am not going to argue with you this morning. You and Alphonse are coming with me, and you will stay where I can keep an eye on you. I don't want you falling down three flights of stairs because you were too stubborn to listen." Roy harshly grabbed Edward's left arm, and dragged him outside. He heard Alphonse sigh behind him, then the sound of his armored footsteps following the two outside.

Roy found himself shoving the boy into the car again, this time slamming the door behind him. Damn it, his day had only just started and it had already gone to hell. By the time he had stormed around to the driver side door, Alphonse had already climbed into the backseat. As soon as Roy had slammed the car door shut, he started the car and drove out of the driveway, practically slamming his foot to the floor. He was _not _in a good mood.

Edward only made this worse on the way there.

"You know, you could've been a little gentler!"

"I'm _not _in the mood, Fullmetal!"

"It's your fault! You're the one forcing me to get up at this hour! Who the hell gets up at _six in the freakin' morning_?"

"Every military officer except you, it seems."

"I'll roll over on command, but like hell am I getting up at six every morning!"

"You will, otherwise I _won't _pass on any leads on the Philosopher's Stone!"

Edward froze. Roy could see the horror in his eyes – no, surely Mustang was jesting. Well, unfortunately for Edward, Mustang was _not_. Not right now. He was not in the mood for any shit from the insubordinate brat this morning.

"You wouldn't!"

"Don't tempt me, Fullmetal."

"You bastard."

Roy reached over and smacked Edward across the back of the head, the resounding 'whack' hinting that perhaps he may have hit the kid too hard. Edward curled up in the seat, shifting away from the angered Flame Alchemist as he clutched his head. Roy paid him no mind, keeping his eyes on the road. Edward had screwed the morning up enough – the colonel didn't want to add a car accident to the list of stuff to go wrong.

Alphonse was silent during the trip, although as soon as the car stopped at Central Command, he and his brother had climbed out of the vehicle. Roy ignored the two as Alphonse spoke to his brother, Edward shrugging off his concern.

The only person in the office when they got there was Hawkeye, who was quick to greet Mustang with a salute. The dark-eyed alchemist waved her off. He wasn't in the mood – it was all too apparent to her. She knew him too well.

"Did something happen, sir?"

Roy slumped into his chair. Edward stood close to his brother, trying to shrink beside the suit of armor.

"Lieutenant… fetch me a cup of coffee. Better yet, the whole damn pot. And take Fullmetal with you."

"Ah… yes… sir?" Hawkeye seemed slightly put-off by the tone in his voice. She left the room with a salute, taking the Elric Brothers with her.

Roy sighed, rubbing his temples. Damn it, maybe he should've thought through his decision to take the brothers under his wing. Edward was just simply too much of a pain. It was one thing to work with him and deal with his slamming doors and insults, but Roy wasn't prepared to deal with that every second of the day.

Riza returned shortly after with a single cup of coffee. The Elric brothers weren't with her.

"Where are they?" He demanded, frustration all too evident in his voice.

"I left them with Major Armstrong. Your coffee, sir."

"…I thought I requested the whole pot."

"The kitchen staff didn't support the idea."

"Fine." Roy took the coffee, and took a sip from the cup. Riza stepped to the side to dodge the resulting spray of hot liquid caused by her commanding officer as he spit the offending drink out. "What the hell, Hawkeye? Is this shit from the north?"

"No, sir, that is black coffee. Edward made it especially for you as a thank you for that bruise."

"Bruise? What bruise?"

"And the headache, he wanted to thank you for that, too. I already gave him some pain killers." It was obvious that Hawkeye was not impressed with her superior. "Sir, with all due respect, it is _not _appropriate to take out your anger on Edward. He's only just been discharged from hospital, Sir; we don't want to send him back."

"Hawkeye, you spend twelve hours living with him, and I guarantee you will want to _shoot him_, and I'm sure you wouldn't miss."

"Sir, I assure you, I am able to restrain myself."

It was all Roy could to to restrain himself right now. At this point, Havoc and Breda walked into the room, stopped, stared for a moment, then turned around and left. The tension in the room was so strong, Mustang could probably set it on fire. Paperwork could wait until after the office was no longer in danger of exploding.

"Perhaps…" Riza began to walk away, "it's best if we send the Elrics to Risembool to recover."

"That's not necessary, Lieutenant."

"Then may I suggest you take better care of those boys?" The look on the lieutenant's face indicated a silent threat as she sat at her desk, starting on her paperwork. It was obvious that she was _not happy_. Roy wasn't going to test her temper.

At lunch, he spotted the brothers sitting with Armstrong across the room. He decided it was best to leave the boys alone for now. He noticed Edward shooting glares towards him, but chose to ignore him. Stupid, defiant, insubordinate…

_Stop it right there, Mustang. _

Roy sighed. Suddenly, he wasn't hungry anymore.

Major Armstrong brought the boys back at the end of the day. He was glaring at Roy as he did so, which made the colonel wonder when _he _became the bad guy here. What had _he_ done? Fullmetal was being a brat so he decided to teach the boy a lesson! He hadn't done anything _wrong_. A knock on the head was hardly cause for alarm. Even his own subordinates were sending distrusting glares at him.

"Forgive me for this, Colonel," Armstrong spoke up, "but something like this happens tomorrow, I think it may be best if the boys stay with someone else. The Armstrong family would be more than willing to take them in until Edward can return home!"

"I think Edward might be a bit too confused for that mansion." Mustang muttered, walking away from the Strongarm Alchemist. "Come on, Fullmetal." He called as he left the office. He could hear the reluctant steps of the two brothers behind him.

The car ride home was silent. Roy was _really_ tempted to burn off the tension, just to get some freedom. He was all too happy to pull into his driveway and head inside. Edward flopped down onto the couch, while Alphonse situated himself at the end of the couch. The Flame Alchemist decided to order a pizza delivery.

Roy was sitting at the table, starting on his two pieces of pizza, when Edward walked into the kitchen, jackets ditched somewhere in the lounge room. That was when Roy noticed the bruise Riza had mentioned, dark purple against Edward's upper arm. It was easily recognized as a handprint. _Did I do that? _He realized that Edward had caught him staring, if that glare was any indication.

"What? You got a problem, Flame?" He spat.

_That's what I get for worrying. _"The only problem I have is you acting like a brat." Roy stood. "I saved your life, Fullmetal, and yet you seem to be extremely ungrateful. You _do _realize that if I hadn't agreed to take you boys in, they would've killed you without a second thought?"

"I didn't ask for you fucking help!" Edward snapped, storming out of the room clumsily.

"That's the last time I bother to help you, then! See if I care next time you're _dying_!"

Roy was frustrated. That kid was such a damn _ungrateful, disrespectful, insubordinate __**brat**_! He really had no clue _why _he had even bothered to let the kid stay in his house. He knew it was going to be difficult, but he had no clue that it would be like _this_. Damn it, why did Edward have to be such a pain in the ass?

The colonel made for the phone, prepared to call Armstrong _now_ and ask him to take the Elric brothers as soon as possible. Roy was through with this.

He had just picked up the phone, not even having dialed the first number, when he heard a series of loud thuds, yelps and a crash, followed up by a panicked 'Brother!' from the younger brother.

"Colonel!"

Roy sighed, hanging up the phone. He headed into the lounge, freezing at the sight. Edward was lying at the base of the stairs, his legs tangled together on the last three stairs. Red was starting to streak through Edward's hair, prompting a curse from Mustang. He quickly pulled his jacket off, and briskly folded it, pressing it against the area where Edward was bleeding. Gently, he pulled Edward to a sitting position, keeping the pressure against his wound firm.

"Edward, stay with me, alright?"

"I… unnn… dizzy…"

"Fullmetal, stay awake!" Roy snapped. "Alphonse, hold this firm and keep him awake. I'm going to call an ambulance."

"Y-yes, sir!"

He left Edward in the hands of his brother, rushing back to the phone.

"_Central City Emergency Services, what is your emergency?" _

"I need an ambulance, now! Edward Elric has fallen and split his head open. He probably has a concussion, too."

"_Certainly, sir. I'll just need your address and I'll have an ambulance on its way." _

Roy wanted to yell and shout – the operator was being too damn calm! But he kept his cool – for Alphonse's sake if nothing else – and relayed his address. As soon as the needed information was handed over, he hung up and returned to the lounge. He took Edward back from his brother, just in time for the boy to cough up his lunch onto the floor.

"Real pleasant, Fullmetal." Roy muttered sarcastically, gently taking the boy into his arms, continuing to press his jacket against the side of the boy's head. "Stay with us, don't you pass out on us!"

"I feel… dizzy… dun wanna…"

Roy closed his eyes, able to hear the sirens approaching from the distance.

"Hang on, Edward…"


	10. Try to Set Things Right? Yeah, right

_Author's notes: Ah… sorry this is so short… I'll post a longer one next time, promise!_

_**To Fireena: **__That's a good thing! You weren't meant to see it coming! Like that frisbee. I'll try!_

_**To Sathreal (you lazy bum XD) : **__Kinda, yeah. And who knows! You'll find out. And thanks!_

**Train Wrecked**

Roy stared at the boy, back in that one place he hated the most. A hospital bed. Of course, Edward wasn't exactly aware of that – their efforts at keeping him awake had failed sometime during the ambulance ride. Bandages were wrapped around the boy's head as he lay there, unmoving, unresponsive.

The State Alchemist glanced over his shoulder when he heard a door open, curious as to why Hawkeye had shown up.

"The hospital called Central Command." She explained, moving to stand beside the stool he was seated on. "Where's Alphonse?"

"He couldn't bear to see his brother like this anymore." Roy sighed. "I'm such an ass. If I hadn't yelled at him, he wouldn't have stormed off upstairs." He felt her hand on his shoulder, offering some form of silent comfort. "I've really screwed this up, Hawkeye. I tried to save him, and look… we're back to square one." Riza had nothing to say in response. "I just… damn it, Fullmetal shouldn't be lying in some damn hospital bed with a concussion."

Hawkeye knew he was taking this rather harshly. She didn't want to pressure him any further, so she didn't speak. He felt guilty enough as it was.

"Lieutenant, I won't be at work tomorrow."

"I understand, sir. I'll do your paperwork for you."

"Thank you."

"Sir?"

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"Try to set things right this time."

He didn't answer.

Hawkeye left shortly after that, leaving Mustang to his thoughts. Damn it, it felt like everything he had worked for with the kid had gone out the window again. Edward was lying there again, and this time, it _was_ his fault. He wasn't just blaming himself. He knew.

He glanced up in alarm when the boy began to stir with a wince, a hand gingerly moving to the side of his head.

"Where…?"

"Hey," Roy quickly moved to sit on the edge of Edward's hospital bed. "Hey, Fullmetal, can you hear me?"

"Colonel?" Edward opened his eyes, but, as had become the norm, left them unfocused, not looking at anything in particular. "What happened?"

"You fell down the stairs and split your head open."

"Oh." It was flat and unenthusiastic. Edward just laid there, staring at the ceiling. "Where's Al?"

"He's probably outside. Want me to go get him?"

"No… it's alright…" Edward sat up slowly, wincing as he did so, clutching his head. "Damn… it feels like I got hit by a train."

"Not this time." Roy chuckled, ruffling the boy's hair. "Why the hell did you fall down the stairs? Do you even remember?"

"Sort of…"

"Then…"

"I couldn't see them. I missed the first step and didn't catch myself."

That wasn't right. The light should've been bright enough for the teenager to see the stairs easily!

"What do you mean, Fullmetal?" Roy demanded. "Why couldn't you see the stairs? Were you so pissed off that you weren't watching where you were going?" Edward shook his head. "Then _what_?" The colonel knew he was shouting now. It was frustrating – it was so hard to get an answer out of the kid sometimes.

"I can't see properly. It's… It's been like this since I woke up from that coma. I can kinda see… but it's all blurry…"

Roy was shocked. Edward… what? But then… he had been glaring at Roy like he could see just fine! And he had managed to leave the hospital on his own!

Then the colonel remembered. Edward hadn't touched a single one of the books that had been checked out for him. His eyes were never focused on one thing at a time – the glares! They weren't focused, either, he realized.

"There's more, too…" Edward interrupted, "don't… don't tell Al." He pulled his knees close to his chest. "I've lost a lot of my memories as a kid." He paused, shaking his head. "I remember Mom dying… but after that, it's all… it's a mess, if it's there at all. The only real clear memory is the Gate, and Truth…"

Roy looked away, closing his eyes. That damned pain in his chest was back… he wasn't sure whether to hug the boy or to simply offer words of consolation. In the end, his pride won out.

"I'm sure they'll come back eventually. Your sight, too."

Edward offered no response, so Roy stood with a sigh. "You trust me, right, Fullmetal?"

"I did…"

Roy felt another pang in his chest. "Sorry." He muttered. "If you want, you can stay with someone else. But you do have to stay with someone until your sight returns, at least." Again, no answer, so Roy left the room.

He found Alphonse sitting in the waiting room, silent as ever. The State Alchemist sighed, tapping on the armor. "Hey, your brother's awake. You should probably go see him."

"Oh, right." Alphonse stood. "Thanks."

"Yeah. I'm headed home… call me if you need anything."

Roy left the hospital and drove himself home. When he pulled into the drive in, he shut the car off. He didn't want to move. Edward was back in that hospital, and it was his fault. He should've realized that there was something more wrong with the boy. How could he not notice that Edward was partially _blind_? The kid was damn good at hiding it…

He sighed, resting his forehead on the steering wheel. Odds are, Edward would call someone else to pick him up from the hospital tomorrow. Roy had lost his chance. He'd go into work tomorrow – there was no point in staying home alone.

Roy cleaned up the mess left in the house to distract himself. Then he finished off his pizza, putting the rest in the fridge – it would probably be his breakfast for the next few days.

As he had found himself doing more and more often lately, he found himself pondering the latest events as he lay awake that night, staring at the ceiling. Edward didn't trust him – and he couldn't blame the kid. Odds were, Edward would probably make his life more of a hell at work, too. Roy had blown his chance. Blown it out the window. Blew it up, too, apparently.

"Damn it." He cursed to the ceiling. How the hell had he let this happen? Sure, Edward was infuriating at times, but that was no excuse. He was a teenager, after all. It was to be expected. "Damn it, Mustang. You've really fucked up this time."

Hawkeye didn't ask any questions when her commanding officer showed up to work the next day and started signing paperwork without saying anything. She went about her own work, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

It was about ten when the phone shrilled into life, prompting the colonel to answer it.

"Colonel Mustang."

"_There's a call from Edward Elric, sir." _

What was Edward doing calling him? Maybe he was looking for Hawkeye or something – it was the same office, after all. He felt his heart sink. Edward would probably mutter a few insults and demand to talk to the lieutenant.

"_Sir?" _

Roy realized that he hadn't answered, and quickly uttered a response. "Sorry, um… patch it through."

"_Hey, you lazy bastard of a colonel. The doctors are just itching to kick me out, you gunna come get me?" _

"What…?"

Well _that _wasn't what Roy had expected.

"_Are you going to come pick me up or are you going to make an__** invalid **__walk to Central Command?" _

"Push your luck and I just might, Fullmetal."

"_Surely you jest. Even you aren't that heartless, Flame." _

Roy knew that Edward was dishing the shit back now – he never referred to the Colonel by his second name. So, 'Flame' decided to keep dishing it out.

"Oh I don't know, after your fall, it might do you good to take a _little _walk."

He was quick to pull the phone away from his ear when Edward began to scream into the phone. He heard Hawkeye sigh.

"My, my," he remarked when the teen had finished, "what a temper! I might just have to have you court-martialed for insubordination."

"_Yeah, yeah, you useless Colonel. What could you do?" _

"Don't test me, Fullmetal."

"_I'll test you whenever the hell I want." _

"Half an hour, Fullmetal."

"_Got it." _

Roy hung up the phone and stood, pulling his coat off the back of his chair. "Lieutenant, is your offer still standing?"

"Of course, sir." She responded, standing.

"Then I might just take the rest of the day off."

"Understood."

Roy wasn't surprised when he walked into Edward's hospital room to find the boy already dressed and moving around. Edward was never one for sitting still.

"Decided to show up, huh?" The teen huffed, crossing his arms.

"Yeah, well, I decided to give a damn this time. Come on, there's some left over pizza in the fridge you can have later for lunch."

"What about your paperwork?" Edward sounded genuinely concerned. Roy wasn't used to the kid talking to him like that, so it took him a moment to respond.

"Hawkeye's taking care of it for me."

"Pushing all your work onto someone else. You are a lazy bastard." Edward limped past the dark-haired alchemist, a smug look on his face. "Come on, then. I'm hungry, damn it!"

"You're always hungry, Fullmetal." Roy sighed. It was true enough – but he supposed it was because Edward was just a teen. A fact they often forgot, because of how much the boy strived to act like an adult, how often he insisted to be treated like one.

Mustang had forgotten that Edward was still just a child under that tough façade. He shook his head.

"Come on, Fullmetal, let's go find the ramps."

"HEY! I can walk down stairs just fine, thank you!"

Roy gave him a look that clearly stated 'oh really now?'

"Damn it! Mustang!" Edward exclaimed as he was – gently – pushed in the right direction. Alphonse sighed.

"Brother…"


	11. Accident? Or an Assassination Attempt?

_Author's notes: Not a whole lot going on here... a lot of people have been asking me why the train derailed in the first place, and I guess you could consider this the first puzzle piece to the events leading up to the crash. Enjoy~  
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_**To Fireena: **__I warned you~ Frisbees hurt. _

_Thank you~ And you'll just have to find out, won't you ;) _

_**To Otaku-chan: **__Hey, don't sweat it! Computers do that, and I know what the finals can do to free time. And… Al takes up pretty much the entire backseat. The only person who can sit beside him is Edward, and that's because he's so small… haha, thank you!_

_Nor do I. Actually, I don't like to get up before noon, but anyway… _

_Nah, had to give Roy a bit of a break. Only problem is the fact that he's forgotten most of the good stuff and remembered all the shit he went through. Just wait and see, my friend. Wait and see. _

**Train Wrecked**

"Hey, Roy, give me a hand?"

"What's up, Fullmetal?" Roy sighed, walking into the kitchen to find Edward trying to reach for a glass on a shelf too high for him to reach. The colonel sighed, reaching up to grab the glass.

So far, Edward and Alphonse had been staying with him for a week. They had fallen into a bit of a pattern – away from Central Command and military duties, the boys referred to him as Roy. In military situations, they referred to him by rank or by his surname. If Edward was in a bad mood, though, it was always Mustang, never Roy.

"How's your eyes?" The colonel asked casually, handing the glass to the boy. Edward sighed as he filled it from the tap, shaking his head.

"Still blurry… I can see the stairs now, though." The last part was a mumble, but Roy heard it none-the-less. He sighed, ruffling the boy's hair.

"Come on, we're gunna be late, Fullmetal."

The boy left his – now empty – glass in the sink, and followed Mustang through the lounge out to the driveway. Alphonse followed the two of them, his armor clanking along behind them. The ride to Central Command wasn't nearly as tense as they had been in the past – Edward and Alphonse were chatting back and forth casually as if nothing had happened, with Roy adding in his two cenz every once in awhile.

Hawkeye met them in the hallways of Central Command, a large folder in her hands, "sir," she spoke up, catching Mustang's attention.

"Yes, Lieutenant?"

"This was straight from Investigations. They wanted you to have direct access to it, sir." She explained, handing the folder to her commanding officer.

"Thank you, Lieutenant… I'll have a look when I get to my office… Ah, would you be able to take the boys to the mess hall? Fullmetal tried to skip breakfast." Roy figured that the only thing Investigations would send to him would be in regards to the train derailment. He didn't want Edward to get into any of the information about the incident – if the boy remembered, it had to be on his own. That, and they didn't know how Edward would react to the details of the crash.

Roy continued on to his office, while Riza redirected the Elric Brothers towards the mess hall. After dropping his coat on the back of his chair, he sat down and began to flick through the files he had been given on the train crash. MPs had arrested two men who had apparently jumped out the windows of the train before the derailment. Other than that, they hadn't gotten any new information out of them. There was a section on the speed the train must've been going and the contributing factors, which he skipped entirely, finding the background information on the two men they had managed to capture.

"What?" He stared at the information in front of him. "A terrorist gang? Why the hell would they want…?" He flicked the passenger list. The only high-profile passengers on the train were Edward and Alphonse…

_Shit._

Roy stood quickly, charging out of the office – nearly bowling down Havoc in the hallway in the process.

"Chief, what's up?" The 2nd Lieutenant questioned, chasing after the Colonel. "You seem worked up."

"Terrorists, Havoc. The train was hijacked without the passenger's knowing. They were after Fullmetal, and I'm sure word that he's alive has gotten out. I doubt they're going to give up because he survived one assassination attempt."

"You sure? I mean… couldn't they have just been using the train?"

"What for, Havoc? If they were, why would they have it moving fast enough to derail it?"

"You've got a point there, I suppose…"

Roy easily located Hawkeye and the Elrics in the mess hall, and quickly pulled the lieutenant aside.

"What is it, Sir?"

"The Elrics are in danger. I need you to make sure that an escort accompanies them at all times. I can't keep an eye on them 24/7, so while I'm at work, I'm leaving you in charge of your safety. Understood, Lieutenant?"

"Yes, sir, but… what danger is it this time, Colonel?" Hawkeye asked, glancing over at the two boys.

"I suspect that a terrorist group hijacked the train in an attempt to kill them in the resulting derailment. I'll discuss it in full with the head of Investigations later, but for now, make sure those two are safe."

"Of course, sir." Hawkeye gave a sharp salute. Mustang turned and left the mess hall briskly, Havoc quickly following him. It was easy to see that he was uneasy about the whole situation, but no one said anything about it.

He quickly arranged a meeting with the Investigations team for later that afternoon, reasoning that he was concerned for the safety of his subordinate and needed to discuss the possible motives behind the incident. Of course, the head of investigations was a lower rank than he was – generally speaking, it was always a lieutenant colonel – and thus couldn't _really _refuse him.

"Colonel Mustang, sir," the lieutenant colonel glanced up when Roy strode into the Investigations office that afternoon. He stood and saluted, but the State Alchemist just waved him off, inviting himself to sit. Roy didn't care to remember the man's name – it was hard enough just trying not to think about the fact that this was the man who took over Hughes' post. He wouldn't use the term 'replace', because Hughes was impossible to replace. "Ah… what was it you wanted to talk about, sir?"

"The train derailment. I had a look at the background of your suspects. They're part of that West Area terrorist group."

"…I'm not sure I see where you're going with this…"

"It was a hijacking. They weren't trying to take prisoners or hostages, or even use the train to barrel into a city." Roy paused, "they were trying to kill someone on board. They sent it over a cliff, Lieutenant Colonel."

"Why not just blow it up if they wanted to kill someone?"

"Because if it derailed, they could either make it look like an accident or frame the train drivers."

"With all due respect, who on that train would be worth killing, sir? The Fullmetal Alchemist? What reason is there to kill him?"

"He's a celebrity. The Hero of the People, youngest State Alchemist in the history of the country. That's plenty of incentive to kill him." Roy paused, and, noting the blank look on the man's face, continued, all the while wondering how this idiot managed to become head of Investigations. "Kill one of the military's most famous State Alchemists, you make a name for yourself and strike fear into the hearts of the citizens. It could also be that he uncovered something while in the West Area that they didn't like him knowing, or he may have gotten into a fight with them, it may even have been a lash out at the military and not Edward himself. It's your job to figure that out, I'm just giving you options."

"Has the Fullmetal Alchemist recovered his memories, sir?"

"No, he hasn't."

"Sir, respectfully, aren't you getting a little too personally involved?"

Roy stood, and began to leave the office, turning back only for a moment, "I take the safety of my subordinates _very_ seriously, Lieutenant Colonel. I'm just making sure you do your job right and figure out whether or not my subordinate is in immediate danger so I can make sure he's kept safe. Odds are, they've found out that Edward Elric survived, and if they were after him in the first place, they may come after him again. See to it that they don't."

With that, he left the office, shutting the door behind him a little harder than needed.

Back at the office, he found a stack of paperwork waiting for him. His subordinates were going about their own jobs, Edward and Alphonse occupying themselves by discussing alchemical theories – well, at least they knew that Edward and Alphonse were definitely as brilliant as ever, although the fact hadn't really been in any doubt in the first place. It was rather depressing that he was stuck signing more of that boring tree-made stuff that would be much more entertaining if he was just allowed to just _burn it_. Well, it was depressing to _him_, at least.

"So, what was that about?" Edward asked, a slightly smug tone in his voice.

"None of your concern, Fullmetal."

"That's great. So, what's this about me having to be escorted everywhere now?"

"Simply a precautionary measure."

"Really now… you know, I'm not a kid."

"So you've said. Kid or not, you still aren't a hundred percent, so I'm not leaving you alone."

"Great to know you're so _concerned_, Colonel."

"Fullmetal, please, these papers are due by the end of the day and I would actually like to not have overdue paperwork today."

"Really? You know there's a spot on the window, right?"

"Oh, is there? Uh… I'll do these after I clean that…"

"Sir," Hawkeye interrupted, reaching for her gun, "may I suggest leaving that to the cleaners and doing your own work instead?"

Roy sat back down. He grabbed his pen and one of the many papers he had to sign, quickly getting to work. The Lieutenant continued with her own work, while Edward was laughing at the two.

"You just got served, you lazy bastard!"

"Shut up, Fullmetal, or I'll burn all your hair off."

"Ah…" Edward shut up.

"You know," Fuery remarked to Havoc, "it's gotten a lot more exciting here ever since those two started to hang around."

"What did you expect?" Breda responded, "after all, kids have a subconscious ability to cheer people up. Even if he acts like an adult, Fullmetal hasn't lost that trait yet."

"It's kind of surprising at times," Havoc agreed. "After all, he doesn't really act his age."

"I can hear you, y'know." Said 'kid' glared at them, causing the three to shut up.

Roy sighed, putting his pen down to rub his temples. The report from the Investigations department wasn't helping his nerves any. He had a sinking feeling that his hunch was right – which meant that Edward was in serious danger. With his vision all blurred and his motor skills still a little uneasy – although they had improved a lot – Edward was in no state to protect himself. If he was attacked, he was as good as dead.

Roy did not want to have to sign post-processing for the Fullmetal Alchemist, and he certainly didn't want to go to the boy's funeral. So, he would just have to keep him alive and out of trouble.

That didn't sound any easier than it did before.

He would have to see what files he could get access to regarding this West Area terrorist group, and find out what history they had with the military. He'd need whatever information he could find – anything could be helpful, after all. Tactics, known members, attack signatures, anything.

Of course, he wasn't going _anywhere _until he was finished with that paperwork. Not with the Lieutenant now watching him like a hawk – pun unintended there. He sighed, staring at the large stack of papers. It looked like he was stuck doing overtime tonight…

"Hawkeye, when you've finished up, would you be able to take the Elrics home for me? I get a sinking feeling I'm going to be working late tonight."

"Of course, sir. Would you like me to stay with them until you get back?"

"If it's no trouble."

"None at all, sir."

_Remind me to give her an overtime bonus next payday._

"We don't need to be babysat…" Edward insisted. Roy didn't reply – he knew it would only start a debate, and he had already given his order.

"Brother, don't argue, please…" Alphonse sighed. Roy could only chuckle.

"Fullmetal? Not argue? I'll believe that when I see it."

"Hey! You obviously don't know me that well!"

"Oh really, Fullmetal?"

"Hey! What are you inferring?"

"Don't you have work to do, Fullmetal?"

"Don't you?"

_Touché, Fullmetal._


	12. Dreams and Nightmares

_Author's notes: Yup. I've updated again. Man, I love public holidays, don't you? What are you supposed to say for Labor Day, anyway? Happy Labor Day? I really don't know. But whatever, I get an extra day to stay up extra late and… not do those assignments that were due last Friday. Whoops. Oh well, I really don't give a damn about comparing the film Australia to Bran Nue Dae or about those whiny two people we watched in court… I wanna make video games, not be a lawyer. Ugh, I'll stop before I go on a complete rant. You guys are too awesome, you don't deserve to have me ranting at you._

_**To Fireena: **__Is he EVER staying out of trouble? Haha, it'll probably be another one of those "Making enemies isn't something that I ... Well I never really avoided it, but there's no reason someone should be trying to kill me!" moments._

_Watch for the heat-seeking Frisbees! Thanks~_

**Train Wrecked**

"_Hey! Who the hell are you?" _

"_Are you insane, going this fast? We're going to tip at the first turn! We're all going down the mountain!" _

"_Shut up, you shrimp. If you want to live, I suggest you shut up and sit quietly." _

"_WHO'RE-YOU-CALLING-A-SHRIMP-SO-SMALL-HE-"_

_Smack. Thud. _

"_What do we do with him?" _

"_Take him to the guys in the first car. They can hold him there." _

"_Boss! He's got a State Alchemist watch! This is him!" _

"_How unusually convenient…" _

"_I… won't… let you… kill all those people…" _

"_Huh? He's still awake?"_

"_Kid's tougher than I thought. Tie him up and keep him quiet. The others can handle him until we jump."_

* * *

><p>"Were they any trouble?"<p>

"None at all, sir," Hawkeye responded. She was sitting on the couch, a half-read novel in her hand. Mustang hung his coat up on the coat rack beside the door, letting out a sigh. "Sir, is something wrong with Edward? He was acting oddly earlier…" Roy glanced around. He figured that the lieutenant wouldn't have asked if Edward was in the room, but he wanted to be certain. "The boys are upstairs, I think Edward fell asleep a little while ago."

"Ah." He sighed, "Edward hasn't been able to see properly since he came out of that coma. He says that he can see colors and shapes, but it's all blurry. He's also missing a large section of his memories as a child. I… don't want to imagine what it's like for him." Roy slumped down onto the couch. "Isn't it about time those boys got a lucky break?"

"One would think so."

He sighed again, "thanks for taking care of them, Lieutenant. You can go home now."

"Thank you, sir." Hawkeye stood and, with a slight bow, headed out the front door, pausing only to let him know that the house keys were on the kitchen table. He gave a wave as she left, before he headed upstairs to check on the two boys.

Alphonse was sitting against the wall in the guest bedroom, Edward fast asleep on the bed, the blankets twisted around him. His face was contorted, as if in pain, his breathing uneasy, his hands clenching the blankets tightly.

"No… I won't let you… hurt them…"

Roy had barely heard the boy's whimpers. "Is he alright?"

"He's dreaming." Alphonse answered. "If it starts to turn into a nightmare, he'll usually wake up…"

Roy moved to sit on the edge of the bed and watched the sleeping teen carefully. Edward shifted slightly, his breath hitching for a moment. He seemed to settle for a moment, before he yelped and quickly curled up into a ball, whimpering slightly. Mustang shook him gently.

"Edward, wake up."

"No… don't… stop it!" Edward then screamed, curling up even further. Alphonse got to his feet in a moment, trying to help the colonel wake the Fullmetal Alchemist. A split second later, Edward had shot upright, his eyes wide.

"Brother, are you okay?" Alphonse asked, worriedly. "You were dreaming again." Edward swayed slightly, shaking horribly. He back onto the bed, his breathing uneven as he tried to calm himself down.

"You alright, Fullmetal?"

"I think so…"

"Does this happen a lot?" Roy hadn't heard the boy screaming in the night before, so he hadn't realized that perhaps Edward's past continued to haunt him.

"Yeah… it's usually traumatic, though."

_It's… what? _It took the dark-haired colonel a moment to process that. "Fullmetal, you were screaming."

"Was I? Huh…" Edward didn't seem too concerned now, having calmed down completely. It was almost as if it had never happened. "I'll be fine. If it was serious, I probably wouldn't be talking to you right now." Roy closed his eyes and looked away, ignoring that pain in his chest.

_Damn it, why does someone so young have to suffer? _He sighed. "Alright, Edward. Get some rest, then, I'll be here if you need me. Tomorrow's my day off, so you can sleep in."

It was Roy who ended up sleeping in. The only reason he woke up when he did was because a frantic Alphonse was banging on his door.

"Roy! Get up! Brother's missing!"

Roy pretty much threw his bedroom door open. He was surprised he hadn't yanked it off the hinges – but he didn't have the time to be focusing on that surprise right now. "_What_?"

"He said he was going to get some fresh air out front, but when I went to check on him, he was gone!"

Roy swore, letting out a few colorful phrases he would not utter outside of his own home. When he calmed down, he sighed. "Alright, let me get changed, and we'll go looking for him. Maybe he's just gone for another one of his walks." Maybe, like the last one, they'd find him and he'd turn around and grin at them, his eyes properly focused, taking in every little detail. Perhaps he had woken up, his eyes working properly, eager to go and see the town properly again.

Yeah. Were they talking about Edward Elric, the Fullmetal _danger magnet_?

Roy quickly pulled on a pair of black pants and a white dress-shirt, throwing on a black vest and long coat over the top – really, that was just his usual attire for when he went out on his days off. It wasn't anything fancy to him – his military dress uniform was what he considered fancy. But that wasn't important right now – Edward was missing _again_. Damn it, was it that difficult to stay where he was told to?

Roy charged out of the room, startling Alphonse, and ran down the stairs two at a time. "You're sure he's not in the house?"

"Brother wouldn't hide from me."

"Right."

The pair ran out of the house – Roy checking to make sure he had his gloves as they did so. If Edward was on foot, then he couldn't have gotten too far. Not in his state. Hopefully he hadn't tried crossing any roads alone…

"Alphonse, get in the car." He called, quickly climbing into the driver's seat. "We can cover more ground on four wheels than we can on two legs."

"R-right." The suit of armor responded, shifting into the backseat as quickly as his bulky size would allow.

"I swear, the next time your brother runs off like this again, I'm gunna kill him myself." Roy muttered, starting the car up, moments before pulling out of the driveway.

The two couldn't spot Edward's tell-tale bright red coat anywhere along the streets. They were contemplating turning back, when Roy decided to question one of the MPs on patrol. He pulled the car up alongside the curb, calling out the window to get the soldier's attention.

"I'm Colonel Roy Mustang, from Central Command. Has the Fullmetal Alchemist come through here? He's short and wears a bright red coat."

"Actually, I did in fact see him about… I dunno, fifteen minutes or so?"

"Which way was he headed?"

"Well, he was running up the street for awhile, but he turned into that back alley there, heading towards the warehouse district. When he crossed that side road there, he was actually knocked down by a car, but he didn't seem too injured and just kept running. I went to see if he was okay, but he didn't answer me and disappeared. He wasn't in the alley when I checked it, so I'm not sure where he's gotten off to now."

"He was running… running? Why was he running?" Roy wondered. "Alphonse, let's go." He shut the car off, throwing the keys at the MP with an order to keep it safe as he left the vehicle, the young Elric Brother close behind him as he made run – while jaywalking – to the back alley that had been pointed out. Criminals liked to make their escapes in there, so the military officers were generally well-acquainted with them. It was no surprise to him that Edward of all people would know the back alleys.

"Alright, if you were your brother, where would you go?" He asked Alphonse once they had come to the first intersection in the alleyways. "Towards the warehouses? Or back that way towards Central Command?"

"If he was running from something that was a threat," Al responded, "he would've gone towards Central Command. There would be more soldiers there to protect him."

"And if he wasn't?"

"Then I doubt we'll find him very easily…"

Roy sighed. Why was _he _stuck taking care of Edward, again? "Alphonse, your brother is a nuisance, and I'm cutting his pay in half starting whenever the hell he goes back to work. Until then, he's not getting any money from me." Deciding that really the only logical option was to head to Central Command, Roy turned and started running in that direction. The sound of Alphonse's clanking armor told him that the boy was close behind.

He spotted one of the poor unfortunate MPs assigned to monitor the back alleys, and quickly began to interrogate him, as well. "Has the Fullmetal Alchemist come through here? He's short and wears a red coat."

"Yeah, and he seemed like he was in a real hurry." The MP responded. "He went down that way, after pushing me out of the way."

"That way?" Roy stared down the alleyway to the right of him. "That goes to… the business district… Why would he go to the business district?"

"A larger crowd to disappear into?" Alphonse offered. That didn't sound promising at all. Roy turned back to the MP.

"Call Lieutenant Hawkeye. Tell her that Colonel Mustang needs his subordinates, and them tell them my approximate location."

"Ah… yes, sir!"

The Flame Alchemist turned and started running down the alleyway, Al close behind. Damn it, Edward was really starting to give him a headache. He was almost more trouble than he was worth.

Almost.

Roy wasn't sure what good a crowd would do for Edward with that bright red coat. He stood out like a sore thumb in any group of people – almost, but not quite, as much as Alphonse. Put the two of them together, and he was sure that some people had to wonder if the circus was in town.

Said bright red jacket was soon located on the ground at one of the intersections, discarded with a messy rip from left shoulder, down through the Flamel down to the end of the coat. Blood stained along the edges of the upper section of the rip, revealing that whatever caused the rip had managed to sink into Edward's skin.

Hesitantly, Roy picked the jacket up. That confirmed his fears – Edward was in the alleys somewhere, in serious danger and now, to top it all off, he was wounded. "We need to find him. Now." Mustang knew his voice was uneasy. "He's bleeding, so if you see any blood drops, then we'll know we're on the right track."

He spotted a red smear across the wall to his left, that alley leading back towards Central Command – in a roundabout way – so he took off in that direction, not particularly caring if Alphonse followed or not – although he knew the Elric did; the sound of the armor was a dead giveaway.

"Fullmetal! Fullmetal, where the hell are you?" He yelled. But, as he expected, there was no response, so he continued. Occasionally, he would spot a blood drop or smear, assuring him that he was going the right way, but only offering more fear in the fact that Edward was definitely badly injured, and running from something that definitely wasn't them.

Was it the terrorists? Did Scar decide to make his reappearance? Was it some new piece on the board who decided that it would be fun to kill and/or torture the Fullmetal Alchemist?

Roy dreaded all of the above options.

"Edward Elric, answer me! Where the hell are you?"

Again, no response.

_Damn it, Fullmetal, you idiot! Once I find you, I swear, I'm not letting you out of my sight again._


	13. Gunshots

_Author's notes: SO. I was going through withdrawals today – Tuesdays are my only days at school without a study session, so I had to wait until I got home until I finished this off._

_AND we've broken 100 reviews. Otaku-chan has stolen both the 50__th__ and the 100__th__ review now. And for that, everyone who's reviewed this story so far gets virtual cookies and chocolate! If I had my way, I'd be sending you real chocolate via the internets, but... we haven't figured out how to email solid objects yet._

_**To Fireena: **__Like I said, he never stays out of trouble. Well, maybe if he stopped walking off, he might, but… _

_Thanks~ And, believe it or not, I post these about… five seconds after I finish writing them. I've got it planned out in my head for the most part, though. When I get into a story, I can write pretty quickly. When I don't… well, let's not get into that. _

_ Wow. I've never seen anyone go that far to defeat the frisbee menace. _

_**To my anonymous reviewer with no name: **__Yeah. The timeframe I usually write for is generally between Hughes's and Lust's deaths. _

_**To Otaku-chan: **__Yeah, but Al probably doesn't mind – he's just as worried as anyone else is about Edward. Haha, no problem, it was about time you guys got a little hint. And they do… I just… haven't figured it out yet. I had a name for them, and it sounded incredibly stupid, so I scrapped it. _

_-mourns for your computer- Poor thing sounds like it's on its last legs… and yes, a very many number of things could have happened. I would've given Ed another concussion if I was stuck chasing after him all the time. You realize I wasn't even considering that? And I have a streak of killing fictional characters in roleplays and fanfiction… so I guess your concern is warranted _

**Train Wrecked**

Roy let out a string of curses, running his hand along a particularly long blood smear on the wall. That couldn't have been caused by Edward falling with his would against the wall. Someone had pushed him against it and dragged him along.

Briskly, Roy pulled his gloves out of his pocket and onto his hands, not wanting to take any chances. He had a sinking feeling that if they didn't find Edward soon, he might be too late. He didn't voice these concerns to Alphonse – what use was there in making the boy worry more?

As he continued to follow the blood drops along the ground, it became more and more apparent to Roy that Edward had more than just a slash on his back now, and the new injury was bleeding heavily. They way the drops were splayed, it seemed like he was swaying, or perhaps limping, and the blood was from a leg injury.

The trail took a turn towards the business district again – annoying Roy to no end that Edward hadn't just taken a straight route – and followed that path a ways down before disappearing completely.

"What the hell?" There were no intersections here. The business district was about a hundred yards ahead, and the trail had just ended. It didn't add up. The colonel looked down at the group of blood drops that marked the end of the trail. They were grouped up, a few splattered a little ways away. To Roy, it looked like the result of a struggle. "So, where did he get to?"

"Colonel!"

Roy turned around to see his subordinates running towards him. He let himself relax slightly – more people meant it would be easier to find Edward.

"Lieutenant, thanks for coming on such short notice."

"What's wrong, sir? Where's Edward?"

"I…" Roy shook his head. "I don't know. He disappeared this morning." He held up Edward's coat. "Found this, but other than that and the blood… the trail ends here." The group all shifted uncomfortably. Fuery looked like he was somewhere between worried and scared, Falman was lost in thought, Breda didn't seem to know how he should feel, Havoc was forlorn and Hawkeye looked determined.

"We'll find him, sir."

"Alright, then. He can't be too far away. Fuery, send out an alert to the MPs in the area to keep an eye out. Falman, is there anywhere in the area that one could keep a kidnapped State Alchemist?"

"Well, plenty of stores in the area have basements where they could hide someone." He offered. "But it would be impossible to check every store with just us."

"I wasn't expecting to check them all…" Roy sighed, slumping against a wall. "Hawkeye, I want you to lead a search through the back alleys of the business district. If there are any windows with blood on them, I want the building searched."

"Yes sir." She saluted, before leading his remaining subordinates through the alleyways.

"Go with her, Alphonse." He added, before turning back to retrace his steps. Alphonse hesitated, but Roy heard his steps retreating. The colonel had a hunch, and he was going to investigate it himself.

There was a burnt-out building that used to be a haven for all sorts of criminals – Roy knew this simply because he had been the one to… smoke them out, per say. The building wasn't structurally sound, but he did remember there being a concrete basement. It would be more discrete than using an everyday shop basement as a hideout. After all, the military wouldn't suspect someone to hide in a building the 'Hero of Ishval' had set on fire.

He found the building pretty much as he had last seen it. Except for the fact that the ashes had blown away and there was little more than burnt charcoal left. He pushed aside the rubble – ignoring the black that was now covering his palms – and found the hatch that he remembered led into the basement. He gave it a firm tug, only to find it was sealed.

"Well, isn't that suspicious?" He mused. The hatch was made of metal, so he couldn't _burn _it. Metal was Edward's specialty, not his, but he did know the basics. He brushed the charcoal away from the hatch, before taking a decent sized piece, sketching a basic transmutation circle onto the hatch. He activated the transmutation circle, opening a decent sized hole in the ground. "Not bad, considering I don't work well with metal." He remarked, jumping down into the basement.

His eyes hadn't even managed to adjust to the darkness when he felt a sharp pain in his left side, coupled with what felt like a punch to the side of the head. Quickly, he snapped his fingers, creating a small explosion in front of him. He clutched his side, able to feel the blood soaking through his gloves.

"Shit." He hissed, placing his other hand on the nearest solid object to keep himself steady. He waited for his eyes to adjust to the darkness, able to hear something shifting nearby. "Who's there?" He called. His only answer was a harsh cough, which sounded rather like someone had just coughed up something unpleasant. He could smell blood, and that unnerved him. "Are you injured?"

"Took your fucking time, Roy."

"Fullmetal?"

"Over here." Edward's voice was coarse, and he sounded like he was wheezing. "I can't go very far. Is my leg over there?"

"I don't know. It's too dark, I can't see at thi- OMPH!" Roy tripped over someone – probably the person he had just scorched – and landed harshly on the floor.

"That sounded painful."

Roy blinked a few times as he stood, his eyes starting to adjust to the darkness. He could faintly see Edward, leaning up against the wall, his left leg and right arm missing from their sockets. The arm was soon located a couple feet away from the blond, but the leg was nowhere to be seen. Edward was clutching his leg with his remaining arm, and Roy could barely make out dark streaks in his hair. Roy moved to his side, gently placing a hand on the boy's shoulder.

"You idiot! Why the hell did you wander off? If you had just stayed in the house like you were meant to, you wouldn't be in this predicament!"

"Roy, please, I'm in enough pain without your annoying voice giving me a headache."

Roy was about to retort, when he heard someone drop into the basement, their feet hitting the ground with a tap.

"What's going on in here?"

The colonel stood and turned around, about to snap his fingers when the newcomer reached for a gun, shooting at him. Roy winced as the bullet lodged into his left shoulder. Two more shots fired, one into his leg, and the other into his abdomen. The State Alchemist fell to the floor, praying that he didn't bleed out. He could hear Edward screaming at him, but he could already feel his mind going foggy.

He heard a fourth shot as he slipped out of consciousness.

"_ROY MUSTANG!" _

* * *

><p>"Hey, you alright?"<p>

Edward knew he was shaking, sitting on the ground beside the pile of rubble and charcoal he'd been held under. A blanket had been wrapped around him by the paramedics, who had promised to send another team to assist him. The MPs were identifying the three bodies of the men who had kidnapped him – two of them had been burned to death, the third had been shot in the head by Hawkeye.

He was still unsure of what had happened. Roy had shown up in the basement, was shot three times, and then, as Edward had tried to prevent the colonel from bleeding to death, Hawkeye shot the attacker in the head, killing him instantly.

"Edward? Can you hear me?"

"Brother, say something…"

Edward shuddered as he felt Havoc attempt to wipe the blood off the boy's face. Well, it wasn't just blood, but he was refusing to think of what else Hawkeye had blown out of that man's skull. It was just so… he didn't want to think about it, instead let out a choked cry.

"Havoc," Hawkeye spoke up, "perhaps you should leave him alone for now."

Alphonse sat at his brother's side, gently placing his hand on the older Elric's shoulder. "Brother? Hey, I'm here."

"Al…" Edward collapsed against the suit of armor, pulling the blanket tighter around him with his one good arm. "Al, I… I thought…" He shuddered, whimpering. The kidnappers… they were going to kill him. One had been about to slit his throat when Roy had shown up. If he had been any later… Edward shuddered again.

"It's okay, Brother." Alphonse shushed him gently. It was obvious to him that his older brother was shaken up – it wasn't best to force him to dwell on it too much. "You can relax now."

Edward went silent, lost in thought. Knowing that bastard Colonel, he'd make a full recovery in about a week, so there wasn't really any reason to worry there. The Fullmetal Alchemist was rather pissed off – with himself, being half-blind, unable to even defend himself, forcing other people to get involved and risk their lives for him. He was frustrated that he was stuck living in Mustang's house until he regained his vision.

Of course, there was that undeniable chance that his sight wouldn't return, but he refused to think about that.

"Brother? Time to go."

Edward blinked. He had zoned out, and hadn't realized that a pair of paramedics had arrived, asking him if it was alright to reattach his automail.

"Uh… you might want to wait… it's pretty heavy, it might be easier to attach it later." He explained. The two paramedics seemed to understand, instead they gently pulled him away from his brother, and laid him back on a stretcher.

He took comfort in the sound of Alphonse's footsteps following as the paramedics carried him out of the back alleyways. He closed his eyes, trying not to think about the blood that still covered him as he was carted into the back of an ambulance, Alphonse squeezing in behind him. Trying not to think about things became easier when his automail the paramedics reattached his automail.

"Does he usually get feverish when his automail's attached?"

"Sometimes, yes."

All he could think about was the burning pain coursing through his nerves, a stark contrast to the cold cloth that had been placed on his forehead.


	14. Attack on Central

_Author's notes: Sorry for taking so long, guys. Things went to hell in real life shortly after I posted the last chapter and well… it took me this long to sort it out. But, I've got my assignments in on time so far (the drafts weren't, which is part of the reason things went to hell at school. The teachers are really paranoid about getting drafts in). I give you all permission to abuse me for my late update in any way you see fit._

_Also, you guys may remember Mittens, the kitten from chapter 1. She is actually my real kitten – she was found abandoned at my sister's elementary school at only two weeks old, so we took her in. You would not believe how much she has grown! She's three or four times the size she was when I started writing this – she won't fit in my hands anymore. On a similar note, Tonya Vance was created as an older version of my roleplay character, Tara, who was VEEEEEEEERY roughly based off of me. Which is why she owns both my dog and my cat. But thankfully, not the 50+ birds and who knows how many possums that my grandparents rehabilitate here._

_AAAAAAAAnd here's your Friday the 13__th__ chapter! I had originally intended to be a bit further in the story than this, but… Well, anyway, I managed to get a little bit of bad luck into this. Or I should probably say chaotic luck…_

'_**The truth is rarely pure, and never simple' **__Eh, just an interesting little quote I found in my legal studies textbook that made me think of FMA . Also, I cut my thumb in art. With a Stanley knife. It makes pressing the space bar painful, but anyway, on with the stuff you care about._

_**To Otaku-chan: **__Your poor, poor computer. -mourns more- I must say, I am very lucky. I've had my laptop for… at least five years (probably more like six) and, while it's a little worn down, it runs beautifully. It loves me, and I love it~_

_Ack! Don't almost die! Don't die, either! And of course she does, she's the Hawk's Eye. And no, it's not that easy. Trust me, that's not ending here. It would be a rather anti-climatic ending for that if it did. _

_UPDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATED! (Finally...)  
><em>

_**Fifty-seven Mufflers: **__XD Haha, well, Al wasn't going to feed it to her. The little kid was._

_**St. Iggy the Pyro: **__For some reason, the review reply thingy is all "PLTHHH" so I'll reply here. _

_Haha, no, he's not dead XD I have a horrible habit of killing characters off, but I don't want to do that in this one XD_

_NINJA SQUIRRELS? WHERE?_

**Train Wrecked**

Roy groaned as the world came into focus. Or, the white ceiling above him, at least. He forced himself to sit up, wincing at the pain in his midsection the movement caused.

"You shouldn't do that. Might open your wounds again."

Roy glanced over at the boy sitting cross-legged on the edge of the adjacent hospital bed, watching the colonel with a smug smirk.

"Mornin', Sleeping Beauty."

"Fullmeta-" Roy cut off, the sudden motion of shifting to turn to face the teenager causing a fresh stab of pain from his wounds.

"I told you not to do that." Edward sighed, his automail foot clicking against the floor as he stood, moving to stand beside his commanding officer's hospital bed. The two were both stuck in those irritating hospital clothes, but there wasn't much they could do about that.

"You've recovered pretty well." Roy remarked, scanning the Fullmetal Alchemist for injuries. He had bandages wrapped around his head, as well as some visible across his left shoulder, probably over that gash that would've been caused by whatever had sliced his jacket. He was also favoring his right leg.

"Yeah, I've fought with worse injuries before. This is nothing, really. If they hadn't had disconnected my automail, I might have had a chance."

Roy sighed, rolling his eyes as he tapped Edward's right temple twice. "Yeah, problem is, you still got a few issues up here that are still healing."

"Won't be long and I'll be fine."

"Fullmetal, promise me that you're not going to go off on any more walks? At least not until your sight's back and we have this fiasco under control."

"Tell me, Mustang, why the hell didn't you explain what was going on to _me_?"

"…Excuse me?" Well, that was a subject change.

"Ah, sir,"

Roy glanced over. He hadn't noticed Hawkeye, standing against the wall nearby. "I explained the situation with the terrorists to Edward." Oh. Right. Roy forgot that he hadn't explained the terrorist attack to him. That would probably explain why Edward was so ticked off that he had been left in the dark – after all, said terrorists had kidnapped him and threw him in the basement.

"You never tell me anything, even when it does have to do with me." Edward's hands were clenched into fists. "Did you ever think that _maybe _I might have wanted to know that I had a group of _terrorists _trying to kill me for some bizarre reason? That might have been a _little bit_ relevant to the whole situation."

"You had more imporant things to worry about, Fullmetal. If you actually did what you were supposed to, none of this would've happened."

"So you're blaming me, now? I didn't ask to be saved." Edward crossed his arms, shooting a glare at Mustang.

"You could've died, Fullmetal."

"No 'could've' about it." He stepped back, slumping back down onto his hospital bed. "I would've. If you had been even a second later." He ran a finger across the front of his throat in explanation.

"Fullmetal…" Roy sighed. Edward could be so frustratingly contradicting at times. Did he have a death wish or something? Did he want to die? Mustang found that hard to believe. After all, Fullmetal wouldn't leave his brother behind, trapped in that suit of armor. Speaking of which, where was Alphonse? Roy was surprised that he wasn't here with his brother. Edward didn't seem too concerned, though, so perhaps the younger Elric was just out for a walk or something.

"So, I'm good to get out of here soon. Which means you need to hurry up so we can leave."

"Shit, Fullmetal, give me a break. I've been awake for five minutes."

"And you'll be awake for five minutes more, I'm sure."

"Fullmetal, please." Roy sighed. He knew that he couldn't keep Edward sitting around the hospital, but it didn't take an idiot to figure out that he would be stuck sitting here for awhile. "I'll arrange for you to stay with someone until I'm out of hospital. Just wait, alright?"

He heard Edward snort, but the kid was otherwise silent.

"Hey, you never answered me, so I'm giving you an order now." Roy added, "don't go wandering off. Make sure someone's with you at all times."

"Yeah, whatever." Edward sighed, crossing his arms. "Does Al count?"

Mustang knew he wasn't going to win this battle straight tout, so he opted for a more tactical approach. "I'd prefer it if you had Hawkeye or someone else we could trust with you, as well, but if you must."

Edward turned to Hawkeye. "Can I go find Al? He said he'd be back by now."

Roy resisted the urge to laugh at the boy. He gave the off-put lieutenant a nod, which earned a salute in response.

The two left Roy alone in the hospital room after a slight debate over whether or not Edward should use a wheelchair. It ended with Riza aiming a gun at him and ordering him to sit in the chair. Of course, that was the only thing that kept him from arguing the whole way back.

"Hey, Lieutenant?" Edward spoke up, glancing back over his shoulder as Hawkeye pushed him down one of the disabled ramps in the hospital. She hummed, allowing him to continue. "What's going to happen if I don't get my sight back?" She sighed, waiting a long while before answering.

"The Colonel and I spoke about it shortly after he discovered your. He said you either would have to be discharged 'honorably' due to injury or reassigned to one of the laboratories, although the likelihood of the later is slim. If you were discharged, you would be escorted back to Risembool and that would be the end of your military career as the Fullmetal Alchemist."

Edward was silent. He needed his State Certification to continue his research to find the Philosopher's Stone, to regain Al's body, and his own arm and leg. If he was discharged – honorably or not – his goals were only that further away. _So, I guess you haven't changed, even after all these years, Truth. _He mused. Truth just loved to cause hell for those who trespassed on his territory. _Don't you worry, though. We'll be coming to take back what ours, soon enough. _He could almost hear Truth's response; 'I'll be waiting, foolish Alchemist.'

The Fullmetal Alchemist started down at his mismatched hands with a sigh. Damn it, he wished he could see more than just the blurry shapes around him. It would've prevented all this trouble if his damn eyes would just _work_ properly!

They found Alphonse downstairs, talking to a young, dark haired boy with a black and white kitten. As soon as Edward had called out to the suit of armor, the pair bolted over. As far as Edward could tell, the boy was smiling.

"Brother," Alphonse spoke, "this is Hunter. His sister, Lieutenant Vance, was stationed up at Northern Command, but her commanding officer was just transferred to Central, so she was transferred, too. He was on the train with us. The kitten is Mittens! She's gotta be at least four times bigger than when we met her!"

Gently, Edward reached out to pet the kitten on the head with his left hand. "You and your cats, Al." He chuckled, smiling.

"We got a new puppy, too!" Hunter added excitedly. "Her name's Hope! She's at home right now, though. Once Sis is done with her medical thing, we're heading home."

"Hunter!" This voice was unfamiliar to Edward. It sounded like a woman, a military tone to it. He could tell that she had dark hair and pale skin like the boy, and was wearing that blob of blue military uniform. "Oh, Major Elric, sir! I was worried that you didn't make it back to Central…" she trailed off, because didn't need to finish her sentence. She was worried he wouldn't make it back alive. "It doesn't matter, it's great to see you're alright, sir."

"Ah, you, too, Lieutenant." He didn't want to admit that he couldn't remember her, so he kept his mouth shut. "So, I guess we'll be seeing you around Central, then?"

"Hopefully." She replied. "Ah, I apologize, but I really must be going. We still haven't finished unpacking."

"Let us know if you need any help!" Alphonse piped up. Lieutenant Vance nodded politely, before she took her leave, Hunter close on her heels, walking with a slight spring.

"It's good to see they're alright." Hawkeye observed. "Lieutenant Vance did a good job with getting the train wreck under control before we had even arrived. It's no wonder she was chosen to join her commanding officer. If I remember correctly, the Colonel put in a good word for her as thanks for her help."

"Really? Ha, I didn't think he was capable of such a thing."

"Edward, you should really give him more credit. He does worry about you boys."

Edward didn't answer, except for a half-silent 'psh'.

It was later agreed that Riza would take the Elrics to Central Command with her when she was at work, but every night, they would need to return to the hospital, as there was nowhere else to take them. Hawkeye would've been willing to, but she didn't offer and it wasn't requested, so they were left in the hospital's care.

This went on for a couple weeks while Roy recovered.

He was putting on his coat after being officially discharged from the hospital when Fuery practically ran into the room. It was about mid-day, so it was odd that someone from the office would be here. The Alchemist in Roy started going to work. Fuery looked exhausted – he had run as if his life depended on it. He had dust on his uniform, rubble in his hair and he was a little bruised and beaten – a result of a fight.

"Fuery, what's going on?"

"Central Command's under attack! Lieutenant Hawkeye's with the Elric Brothers in the office, but she can't hold off the attackers forever! Major Armstrong was going to help them, but I heard that he was buried under a collapsed stairwell on his way. I don't know where everyone else is."

That was all Roy needed to hear. He charged past his exhausted subordinate, turning back only for a moment as he pulled his gloves from his pocket. "You did well, Fuery. Do you think you still have the energy to fight?"

"Yes, sir!" Fuery stood straight and saluted, the soldier side of him coming out as his fatigue seemed to disappear.

"Then come with me. We have to find Fullmetal and Hawkeye."

Central Command was in chaos. There was a building that appeared to be blown to pieces, and there were bodies of the guards in the courtyard. The moment the pair stepped onto the premises, masked attackers jumped off the wall, but were soon blown away by the Flame Alchemist.

Inside, there were obvious signs of a struggle. There were dead soldiers on the floor, beside them, their attackers. "They went out fighting for their country." Roy observed. Fuery didn't miss the hint of pain in his voice. "Come on, maybe we'll find Armstrong on the way."

The attackers at the gate weren't the last. More seemed to appear out of nowhere, but Roy either blew them to pieces or left them writhing in pain. Fuery seemed slightly off-put, but a quick reminder that as a soldier, it wasn't his place to argue, the Sergeant Major soldiered on.

The first stairwell they tried had collapsed in on itself. Roy really didn't have the time to figure out a transmutation circle to use, so the two ran to the next closest stairway. Luckily, it appeared to be intact still.

The two eventually made it to Roy's office, and barged their way in, only to be met with a pair of gunshots that went barely over their heads.

"Hold your fire, Lieutenant!" Mustang exclaimed, slowly lowering his hands from his head. Hawkeye had a look of utter relief, lowering her pistol.

"Sir, I'm glad to see you're unharmed."

"Falman!" Fuery cut off Roy's response, spotting his comrade crouched in the corner beside Edward, holding a red-stained cloth to the side of the teenager's head. "You're alright!"

"Yeah," Falman responded, "can't say the same for Edward. He took a nasty blow to the head." Roy quickly moved to Edward's side. The Fullmetal Alchemist was half out of it, his eyes glazed over, and half-closed. He was muttering inaudible words, inattentive to the world around him. "He's been like this ever since. I can't make out what he's saying, sir, but I think it's half of some sort of argument."

Roy sighed, "Falman, Hawkeye, you stay with him. I'm going to go round up the others. Where is Alphonse?"

"He's with Hunter Vance. His sister brought him to work today, but the two were separated in the attack. Alphonse went to find her." Hawkeye explained.

"Today, of all days…" Roy sighed. "Fuery, let's go." He stood and quickly strode out of the room, Kain close behind him.

As they continued on, the found more and more soldiers gathering. The attackers were either dead, or tied up. It wasn't uncommon for a group to cheer in the event that Roy stopped a group of attackers before they even managed to begin their assault. The soldiers they found began to follow the Colonel, ready to defend him if needed.

They found the suit of armor, knelt beside the body of one of the fallen soldiers, Hunter Vance beside him. It took Roy a moment to recognize the bloodied form of 1st Lieutenant Tonya Vance. He could almost feel the morale of the soldiers following him plummet at the sight of the young boy, crying over the body of his sister.

"Al?" Roy spoke up quietly, gaining the Elric's attention. "Are you and the boy unhurt?"

"Yeah." Alphonse's voice was barely a whisper. The pain was apparent in his voice, echoing off the metal suit of armor. "We're alright, I guess. Is Brother okay?"

"He took a hit to the head, and is a bit delirious right now, but I think he'll be fine."

"That's good…"

Roy crouched down beside Vance, gently rolling her over. Her eyes were still open, staring lifelessly into space, so he gently forced them closed. Her brother didn't need to remember his sister having such soulless eyes. "We'll have to come back for her after the fighting's over. I want a group to accompany Lieutenant Vance's brother to my office. Alphonse, you can come with us, or go back to your brother."

"I think I'll go back to help Brother."

Half of the soldiers split to take the two boys back to Roy's office, while the Colonel, Fuery and the rest of the soldiers continued on to locate the others.

Havoc and Breda were locked in a shootout with a group of insurgents. A shootout that was soon ended with a contained explosion from Roy.

"Chief, welcome back to the front lines." Havoc mused jokingly.

"Let's get this over with." Mustang muttered. He winced as a sharp pain shot through his shoulder, where he had been shot. Damn it, he'd forgotten that, even though he was out of hospital, he wasn't meant to be overexerting himself.

"You alright, Chief?"

"I'll be fi- EVERYBODY DOWN, NOW!"

The last thing Roy remembered was an explosion that was not his fault. His vision went white, and that was that. Even for months later, he could not remember what, exactly, happened next.


End file.
